By Kelly Doran
Sun staff
Students in the Clermont County Gifted STEM Program had a unique invention convention on April 30.
While the idea of inventing an item remained the same, the students utilized a 3D printer for their project, which they’ve never done before, said teacher Heather Frost-Hauck.
The 84 students who participated in the 2015 3D Invention Convention at Hill Intermediate School are in grades 3-5 and are from Bethel-Tate, Clermont Northeastern and Williamsburg Local Schools, Frost-Hauck said.
The students are part of the Clermont County Gifted STEM Program for students that are gifted in reading or math, or have superior cognitive skills. Frost-Hauck and Fay Wagner teach the program.
“It’s just been great. The kids have learned so much,” Frost-Hauck said.
The students came up with a problem and then created an invention to solve it. However, students had to have a 3D component to their invention, whether it be a piece or the whole invention, Frost-Hauck said.
Because of that, all the students had the chance to use the 3D printer to make a three by three by three design. While using the printer, students also used a CAD program, Frost-Hauck said.
“Introducing it in third or fourth or fifth grade, I just feel it puts them steps ahead of their peers,” Frost-Hauck said.
Each student created an individual project, and Frost-Hauck feels there is a lot of diversity in the projects.
This is the first time the Gifted STEM Program has used a 3D printer, but there is always a big project each year, Frost-Hauck said.
Megan Ellis, a fourth grade student at Williamsburg Elementary, created The Solar Cloud, a flying car, because she enjoys working on cars with her father. Her invention solves the problem of sitting in traffic.
Terribithia Schuler, a fifth grade student from CNE, invented, Catertainment Center, an interactive cat toy to keep her cat entertained so that her cat would stop bothering her mom.
Both Ellis and Schuler really enjoyed working with the printers.
“It’s heartwarming to see the children and their displays and creative thinking,” said teacher Fay Wagner.
The project has given students the opportunity to apply creative thinking skills, solve problems, use technology and gain confidence, Wagner said.
Procter and Gamble, the University of Cincinnati and the Greater Cincinnati STEM Collaborative sponsored the 3D Invention Convention. Procter and Gamble and the STEM Collaborative provided the printers for them to borrow, Frost-Hauck said.
Procter and Gamble, who founded the Greater Cincinnati STEM Collaborative, gave the collaborative a grant in 2014 to bring a 3D printer and the curriculum to greater Cincinnati, said Mary Adams, IT and Transformation Expert with the collaborative.
Over the summer, the collaborative put on summer camps for multiple Cincinnati schools. Adams knew of the Gifted STEM Program and what the teachers were doing, so she connected with them for the school year.
The collaborative will hold summer camps again this summer and Adams hopes to put the curriculum in 20 schools in the fall, she said.
“I just think what they’ve done out here is amazing,” Adams said of the Gifted STEM Program.
The 3D printer is an amazing tool for education, and it is very engaging because it’s new, Adams said.
The mission of the Greater Cincinnati STEM Collaborative is get more students interested in STEM careers, Adams said.
“We want to show kids that this is math and science are relevant, we want them to have hands on experiences that are really engaging. At the end of the day we want more kids to be interested in learning this stuff,” Adams said.