Introducing the 3D ThinkLink Youth Mentor Program

Our 3D ThinkLink training includes 30 hours of classroom instruction and labs, a four-hour community service project and a day of Vocational Orientation. Students selected for advanced training spend a week in our 3D ThinkLink Creativity Lab to deepen their understanding of 3D design and printing, and to further develop their critical thinking and problem solving skills.

But then what happens?

We want our students to retain the benefits of their 3D ThinkLink experience after they’ve completed their training. In fact, we want them to spread those benefits to others.

3DThinkLink students introduce youngsters to 3D printing
at the 2014 USA Science & Engineering Festival

That’s why we’ve launched a program to exponentially increase our foundation’s ability to reach at-risk youth.

The goal of our Youth Mentor Program is for the life lessons we instill in our students to be passed along from person to person, spreading through under-served communities.

We’re going to give our most motivated and capable advanced students the tools they need to continue learning about 3D and to share their knowledge with their family, friends and neighbors. 

Each student in our Youth Mentor Program will receive a Tech Pack, which includes a 3D printer, design software, laptop computer and training.

Your donation of $500 will buy a Tech Pack for a deserving student. To contribute to this important new program, please contact YouthQuest Operations Manager Juan Louro at juan.louro@youthquestfoundation.org or (703) 234-4633.

We know that mentoring is especially beneficial for at-risk teens.

By turning our students into mentors as they make the transition to adulthood, we will build up their self-esteem and empower them to inspire younger kids and even older people.

They will drive positive change from within their communities by giving back and being role models, as well as resources for 3D design and printing.

Student Snapshot: Tyeshia Blackmond

This is the latest in an occasional series about outstanding young people who have completed our 3D ThinkLink class.

“Back home, not too many people believed in me and I often heard what I could not or would not do, but this program has given me more power to prove them wrong,” Tyeshia Blackmond wrote in an essay about her 3D ThinkLink experience.

The youngest of nine children in her family, Tyeshia had quit going to school a couple of years ago and was “hanging out with the wrong crowd.” She enrolled in Washington DC’s Capital Guardian Youth ChalleNGe Academy last year in hopes of turning her life around.

Tyeshia said she’s grateful for the opportunity to participate in our 3D program at CGYCA.

“I am aware that everyone does not get a chance to be exposed to this type of technology,” she explained in her essay. “I know of people back home that do not have an idea of what 3D printing pertains to and can do.”

Being in 3D ThinkLink class brought out her creativity and built up her confidence.

“I would have never known I could be so passionate and it has been very empowering to develop such skills,” she said.

Tyeshia, who’s aiming for a career in social work or counseling, was chosen as one of two student speakers at CGYCA’s graduation ceremony in June, 2015. She went on to work as a summer intern at the DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. 

Exploring New Materials and Printers in the 3D ThinkLink Creativity Lab

One of our favorite parts of summer is having students come to the 3DThinkLinkCreativity Lab. We invite outstanding graduates of our introductory 3D ThinkLink classes to attend advanced training sessions in the lab at our headquarters in Chantilly, Virginia.

NeLazjay Brown and Kelvin Stoddard from Washington, DC’s Capital Guardian YouthChalleNGe Academy and Henry Spiegelblatt from the PHILLIPS School in Annandale, Virginia, spent two days in the lab last week exploring 3D printing methods and materials that go far beyond what they experienced in their schools.

On Wednesday, Director of Instruction Tom Meeks introduced the students to the new M3D printer and the many types of filament it can use. The Cube machines they had in their classrooms print only with hard PLA or ABS plastic, but the M3D can handle flexible filament that feels like soft rubber and comes in many eye-catching translucent colors.

Henry Spiegelblatt, NeLazJay Brown and Kelvin Stoddard test materials

Tom also showed the kids Chameleon filament, which changes color when the temperature rises or falls. They did experiments with hot and cold water to record temperature points that produced color changes for various types of thermochromic filaments.

Because our 3D ThinkLink project is as much about thinking as it is about 3D printing, the students spent the rest of the day coming up with ideas for things they could make with the new materials they’d learned about – then designing and printing their creations.

Kelvin Stoddard removes powder from
a model car printed on the Z450

We also demonstrated our Z450 printer, a full-color inkjet and powder bed machine, to teach the kids about a 3D printing method that’s quite different from the FDM (fused-deposition modeling) they used at school. Instead of extruding layers of melted plastic filament like the Cube or M3D, the Z450 builds layers of ink and liquid binder on super-fine gypsum powder. 

IMade3D CEO Ladi Goc explains the JellyBox 3D printer to the lab class 

Thursday’s lab session was devoted to the JellyBox, a unique 3D printer kit from IMade3D. It’s designed to be assembled, operated and taken apart over and over again so students can understand how 3D printers work. Besides being a great teaching tool, the JellyBox produces beautiful, high-quality prints in a variety of materials.

IMade3D CEO Ladi Goc and outreach director Bruce Troutman spent the day with the kids in the lab, but didn’t give them any written instructions. Instead, the students examined a fully assembled JellyBox, asked questions and figured out what to do through trial and error. This helped strengthen their problem-solving skills, a key element of 3D ThinkLink training.

Our lab students assemble JellyBox 3D printers  

NeLazjay, who has strong mechanical abilities, especially enjoyed the hands-on learning activity. In about three hours, the kids finished building their JellyBox and started doing test prints. Ladi and Bruce said they’d never seen a group complete the project so quickly.

Tom and the students at
YouthQuest's VIP Reception

The big payoff came on Thursday night, when the students attended our annual VIP Reception to meet some of our leading supporters and show off their 3D printing skills. Our guests at the event hosted by Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar in Tysons Corner were fascinated to see the JellyBox and M3D printers in action and impressed by what the kids had accomplished.

Last week’s experience was a confidence-builder for Henry, Kelvin and NeLazjay. We hope it inspires them to go further with 3D printing and to build on the thinking skills they’re developing.

We also want to thank technology teacher Jim Field from the PHILLIPS School and CGYCA staffers Tonya Lewis and Ricardo Abbott for being with us during the lab sessions. They seemed to enjoy the activities as much as the kids!

Henry Spiegelblatt, NeLazJay Brown and Kelvin Stoddard receive certificates from YouthQuest President Lynda Mann and Director of Instruction Tom Meeks