3D ThinkLink Intiative Recognized for Public Service

We are honored to be among the nominees for Public Service Innovator of the Year in the Greater Washington Innovation Awards. It’s exciting to have such an opportunity to tell regional leaders about the success of our 3D ThinkLink Initiative.

In a Q&A with the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce blog, YouthQuest Co-Founder and President Lynda Mann explained:

“Our innovation is not that we introduce kids to 3D design and printing, it’s how we use this technology as a vehicle to teach the important life skills at-risk youth lack, such as critical thinking, problem solving, creativity and the confidence to fail. 3D printing is perfectly suited for showing kids who’ve failed in school that mistakes are part of the learning process – they are the beginning of something good, not the end of something bad.”

Another innovative element of the project is that our methodology for teaching the CAD (computer-aided design) program Moment of Inspiration is based on the way we learn languages. We present 3D design concepts as nouns (2D shapes) and verbs (actions applied to shapes that make them 3D).

In addition, the 3D ThinkLink Initiative is innovative because, instead of serving the high-achieving “Science Club” kids who would likely have access to 3D printing anyway, we target at-risk kids to get them re-engaged with education.

Asked what innovation means to her, Lynda told the NOVA Chamber blog:

“The YouthQuest Foundation team believes innovation is the enlightened consequence of a creative, synergistic process that leads to thinking in new ways about solving problems … We wanted to create a truly innovative approach that would lead to solutions that make life better for these young people, and improve organizations and entire communities where they can grow, learn and work.”

Our presentation to the judges at the Innovation Awards Showcase on March 3 included this video of students talking about how the 3D ThinkLink experience affected them.

  

A week before the Innovation Awards Showcase, we had another great opportunity to raise our profile among Northern Virginia leaders. We were featured at a Corporate Information Event in McLean, along with our partners from the PHILLIPS Programs for Children and Families.

YouthQuest Director of Instruction Tom Meeks and Operations Manager Juan Louro speak with guests at Corporate Information Night on February 21 in McLean, Virginia.

The winners of the Greater Washington Innovation Awards will be announced April 27 at the Hamilton Live in DC. Click here for details and ticket information.

VIDEOS: Why We've Added the M3D Micro to Our 3D Printing Toolbox

With our 3D ThinkLink Initiative now in its fourth year, and 3D design and printing technology evolving faster than ever, we're always on the lookout for new tools that are well-suited to our work with at-risk youth. We've been testing the Micro 3D printer made by M3D and are quite pleased with the results. 

Our Director of Instruction, Tom Meeks, is so impressed that he's making a series of video tutorials about the M3D Micro. The key to the successful use of any 3D printer is to understand how it works and what the operator can do to ensure the best performance and reliability. That is what our M3D video series will try to address.

The videos are primarily for our teachers and students in the programs we serve, such as National Guard Youth ChalleNGe, the PHILLIPS Programs for Children and Families and AMIkids -- but we're happy to share them with all 3D printing enthusiasts. Here are the first two:

The Micro is a valuable addition to our 3D ThinkLink toolbox for many reasons. First of all, it makes high-quality prints. It's easy to use, reliable, compact and quiet. It can handle more types of material than the 3D Systems Cube printers we use at most of our class sites, including flexible and thermochromic filaments. And, yes, it's quite affordable for such a versatile machine. 

Each 3D printer in our toolbox is chosen to fill a unique role. While the M3D is a bit slow to be used in the classroom when compared to our Cube 2 and Cube 3 machines, it is the perfect "personal printer" to be used by teachers and our Youth Mentor students outside the classroom. It extends our educational work beyond the classroom and into the community.

Better Tools, Better Teaching

Although we haven't deployed Micros at program class sites yet, we have purchased several for our 3D ThinkLink Creativity Lab, where we've introduced our teachers to them. Our expectation is that teachers will enjoy using the Micro so much that they'll greatly increase their own 3D design and printing skills, then use that knowledge to better tailor our 3D ThinkLink curriculum to their students' particular needs. 

Tom Meeks demonstrates the M3D Micro during 3D ThinkLink teacher training

The Micro is also part of the Tech Pack we give our top students when they complete training to be Youth Mentors. Their mission is to use the printers in sharing their 3D skills with people in their communities, acting as role models to promote positive change.

Freestate ChalleNGe Academy grad Aunya' Jones, our first Youth Mentor,
works with her M3D Micro printer

As Tom noted in his Idearoom3D blog, we're eagerly awaiting the release of the bigger, faster M3D Pro, which won't have to be connected to a laptop while printing. Meanwhile, keep an eye on our YouTube channel for more tips about using the M3D Micro.