NEWS$show=/search/label/news

Here's where you'll find all the latest news about technology for children. We love to follow cool new inventions on Kickstarter and we hunt out all the latest announcements about tech toys and gadgets for the coming Christmas holidays. You'll also get our take on children's technology stories in the media.

REVIEWS$show=/search/label/review

Our kids technology product reviews are intended to help you work out whether a toy, gadget or kit is a good fit for your child or family. There's lots of cool stuff available, but is it the right choice for the child or teenager that you are buying for? We'll help you make the right choices and get the best value for money.

GIFT GUIDES$show=/search/label/gift%20guide

Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends assemble. We create gift lists to help you make good choices for kids technology which helps them develop the right skills for the future. We research the best in Coding Toys and Games, Making / Craft Tools and Kits, STEM/STEAM related gifts, Programmable Robots, Electronics Kits and Gadgets for Tech Age Kids and Teens.

PROJECTS$show=/search/label/project

Get crafty with technology. Here we'll post all our ideas and projects using technology to get creative and making with kids. You'll find anything from making a lemon battery to a glow-in-the-dark Minecraft sword. Our projects are tried and tested on our own kids or at events we run, so we are sure you can have a go at home with your kids. Some of our projects use specific tech gadgets which we provide links for you to purchase.

STEM$show=/search/label/stem

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. In recent years there is an increased focus in these areas of study. We like to include Art and Design too, so we often talk about STEAM (A stands for Art). At Tech Age Kids we believe Coding is a new literacy and children need to understand how technology works, practice making skills and grow in their curiosity to make a better future for us all.

CODING$show=/search/label/coding

Coding is increasingly being recognised as an important skill for children to learn. Some will learn to code at school or at a coding club, but it's brilliant if they get support at home too.

ELECTRONICS$show=/search/label/electronics

We think it's really important for kids to get hands-on with electronics and learn how to make circuits and write code to control hardware. Younger kids can start with conductive playdough. For kids who like to combine craft and tech, littleBits are fab. And we love SAM Labs wireless electronics components for making it easy for kids to make Internet of Things inventions. Lots of electronics kits for kids have support for the Arduino microprocessor environment. The DuinoKit Jr is one of our favourites. Arduino is a fab skill for older kids and teens to develop.

ROBOTICS$show=/search/label/robotics

We love robots at Tech Age Kids, especially programmable ones. We've got lots of them and write reviews and projects that use them. Our programmable robots for kids buying guide is a good place to start if you're not sure what's available. Roby the mBot Meccano robot dog is one of our popular projects and has been with us to lots of events. Our Ozobot LEGO trailer is fab for kids who love LEGO and robots.

MAKING AND CRAFT$show=/search/label/making

We're advocates of the creative use of technology, but this needs to be balanced with developing physical skills such as papercraft, woodwork, clay modelling, technical drawing and soldering. If children don't develop these skills as they grow up then physical making projects can become frustrating rather than fun. The Maker Community uses the term 'making' as a broad term to include all sorts of artisan skills or craft activities. Being able to make things can lead to life-long hobbies or even careers. It's a great feeling to be able to take a project from an idea in your head to a real object that does something. We're particularly interested to explore products that combine maker skills with tech skills such as electronics but others focus purely on the physical making skills that are still important to modern making.

Getting Started with 3D Modeling and Printing for Kids - My Tool Chain


I've been working with 3D modeling and children for a few years and recently the tools have really come together to give a fantastic tool-chain for beginners to go from an idea to a 3D printed model. There are lots of tools out there, but I've now got a core tool-chain and workflow that I use with kids for most projects.

There are lots of other awesome tools out there that I use for specific tasks, but the ones in this post are my go to tools.

BlocksCAD

BlocksCAD is a browser-based tool that allows you to code 3D models using blocks. Coding? Isn't that harder than a graphical modeling tool where you work with geometric shapes? In my experience coding 3D models works really well with kids who have learned a block based language such as Scratch.



It's easier to be precise when working with code and it's really easy to change models and even create parameterised models. 

I should also mention BeetleBlocks which is another block-based tool for 3D coding which has some great features. I also use BeetleBlocks for some projects. It has more capability and is more suited to some projects. 

But for straight-up 3D modelling projects for 3D printing, BlocksCAD is a great place to start.

BlocksCAD can export .STL files which are used for 3D printing. 

Here are a few projects that I've made with BlocksCAD:

Microsoft 3D Builder

Microsoft 3D Builder is a 3D modelling tool that's included with Windows 10. If you want to do graphical modelling with drag and drop 3D shapes then it's a pretty good place to start. It offers an alternative way of creating 3D models without coding which is useful for some projects.

It also has some features that are useful when working with BlocksCAD. 3D Builder can import .STL files, fix issues and send them to selected 3D printers. 

3D Builder does a great job of automatically fixing up 3D models from BlocksCAD so that they are ready to send to a printer. (We've had mixed results from getting the tool for our 3D printer to do this.)



Microsoft 3D Builder has support for printing directly to specific 3D printers including several from XYZ Printing, the printrbot Simple, Play and Plus, the Cube 3D and the Dremel 3D Idea Builder.

When you use one of these printers you can just click print from 3D Builder and print in a similar way to printing to a regular printer. You don't have to open the software that comes with your 3D printer.


XYZ Printing da Vinci Mini 3D Printer

For working with children and young people I use the XYZ Printing da Vinci Mini 3D Printer. It's not the best 3D printer you can buy but it is one of the cheapest and easiest to use. 

It's a good place to start for young people as well as parents and educators. Supervision is necessary for children but they will be able to send models to print and watch what happens.

The da Vinci Mini can only use specific filaments from the manufacturer but this means that it gets reasonable results cheaply. The filament itself isn't too expensive. 

I wouldn't want to suggest that this is a perfect 3D printer, there are models that cost a lot more out there and lots of them are better. Expect some failed prints and some experimenting to get prints to stick to the bed well (avoid drafts and use a glue stick.) But for a cheap printer to get started and experience the end to end process it does the job pretty well. We've printed some really good quality prints with this printer including complex models with movement that print as one model. 

This isn't a fast 3D printer either. This means that it's important to set expectations on what can be printed. At least it keeps the costs down as you can't use too much filament too quickly!

I just use the tools for the printer for loading and unloading filament and calibrating the printer. The integration with 3D Builder is really useful.


What to Code and Print

My advice is to stick to small things to start with! 3D printing is a fairly slow process and kids want results quickly. I've been working on projects that can be printed in 15-20 minutes such as badges, key rings, pendants, clips, board game pieces and small toys. 

Avoid complex models that need support material to print. 

Having instructions to follow works well for learning how BlocksCAD works. In my experience some kids just 'get it' really quickly and are soon working on their own projects. Others need to spend more time working through example projects. 

At home with parents or in a club with mentors available you can help kids work on their own projects if their ideas are ahead of their current abilities.



Roundup

I've talked about 3D coding and 3D printing for children at a few events recently and thought it would be useful to document the tools that I'm working with. 

I've been using BlocksCAD with with my Code Club who have already worked with Scratch and other block-based editors and are aged 9-11. They have found 3D coding hard but rewarding. You can see their theoretical maths knowledge coming to life and clicking into place. The children who have played Minecraft tend to instantly get the concepts of working in 3D space with x, y and z coordinates, others have to work a little harder. 

I love the discussions that we've had. They really get the idea of being able to make custom objects quickly and cheaply. They've recently been looking at how to create a 3D coded and printed fidget spinner. 

Each week I give out a 3D printed 'star coder' badge to the person who has impressed the club leaders the most. I designed the first badge but now the children and developing the skills to develop their own badges.

Do try this at home, and school!






24 days of Scratch coding book cover and cute penguin
Name

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Tech Age Kids | Technology for Children: Getting Started with 3D Modeling and Printing for Kids - My Tool Chain
Getting Started with 3D Modeling and Printing for Kids - My Tool Chain
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