THREE Limerick primary schools proved they can see the full picture, having emerged among five winners of Manufacturing a Healthy Future, a 3D printing design challenge fostering STEM skills in classrooms.
With the theme of sustainability in mind, students used 3D printers to develop innovative solutions to challenges within their school communities.
Our Lady’s Abbey, Adare, Scoil Naomh Iรณsaf, Adare, and Croom National School, as well as Scoil Phรกdraig, Kilkenny, and Central Model Senior School, Dublin were named winners of this year’s competition.
Med tech company Stryker, I-Form, and Science Foundation Ireland’s Research Centre for Advanced Manufacturing have been rolling out the competition for the past four years.
Winning schools visited Stryker’s manufacturing facility in County Cork where they were presented with trophies and saw the innovative work being done in the field of additive manufacturing.
The winning entries reflected the students’ creativity and problem-solving skills, addressing real-world classroom needs from creating light switch covers, chair back reinforcements, a ball-catching hockey goal, and a desk-side water bottle holder.
Patricia Lavin, deputy principal of Our Lady’s Abbey, Adare, said: “In our school, the 3D printing project was a hugely valuable learning experience. The children began by identifying real-life problems around the school, then worked in teams to design practical solutions using Tinkercad, an online 3D modelling program.”
“For most of them, this was their first time using CAD software, but they quickly learned how to navigate the tools, think in 3D, and turn their ideas into precise digital models.”
