2017-2018 School Year
Independent Projects
2016-2017 School Year
Independent Projects
Reese created a U of M inspired design.
Caylie
Teamwork
This dynamic duo, Lucy and Addy, worked together to create this little piggy.
2015-2016 School Year
4th Graders’ Independent Projects
Eastern’s Gutter Derby
Some of Eastern’s students were a little too shy to participate in our regional Gutter Derby event. So Eastern hosted their own. Below are the winners:
Tribe of Unicorns
Lucy created her Tribe of Unicorns for an independent project.
Things that Move
Karen Nelson challenged her students to create something that moved. Will came up with this design:
Thanksgiving Winner
Reese, 5th grade, was the winner of the Thanksgiving competition. It’s titled: “Clyde the T-Rex with his family at Thanksgiving dinner. ”
EJ won 3rd place with the design below. This is also his first print.
Cam won 4th place. 
Independent Projects
Will, 5th grade, printed a Lego Darth Vader on his home printer with movable legs, arms, and head.
Alayna, 5th grade
Dan, 5th grade
Drew, 4th grade
Jackson with his first print.
Aiden with his design.
Spencer, a 4th grader, with his design.
Cooper, a 5th grade student with his print.
Rocket
Maya, a 5th grade student, 3D printed her independent design of a rocket in Karen Nelson’s classroom.
Thanksgiving Competition
Two 5th grade boys have set up a 3D printing THANKSGIVING challenge – open to all 4th and 5th grade students at Eastern. Kids can design “something to do with Thanksgiving” in Tinkercad, take a screen shot and then upload the image to our google doc spot. Deadline is November 30 (yes – after Turkey Day) but then top vote getters will get to print their design. The boys even picked filament colors that can be used – red, yellow, orange or white…brown would have been on the list if they had that color! There are already a dozen entries. Look forward to seeing the students’ designs following the November 30 deadline.
Independent Projects
Ava and Savannah, 5th graders, designed mini laptop with separate keys.
Jerry, a 5th grade student, made a second prototype of his scooter independent project this time around he added movable handlebars. His plans for the next prototype are to have moving handlebars with more stability.
Check out Audrey, a 4th grader, and her first project
Spike’s first independent project:
Phoebe’s first independent project:
Check out Maya’s project!
Student’s First Print
Toni is a new 5th grade student at Eastern. She’s also new to 3D printing. Here she is with her first print.
Cause for Celebration
The printer at Eastern has finally come online! Look at what these students are doing to celebrate.
Legos
Check out what Scout has made over at Eastern Elementary. Her very own Legos!
2014-2015 School Year
5th Grade Critter
A fifth grade Eastern Elementary student from Karen Nelson’s class created a 3D critter. The student was inspired when seeing a small elephant with moveable legs from a high school student. At the end of a school day, Nelson and the student successfully printed the critter.
“Since parts may otherwise be mid air and need temporary supports for the print, I had not seen it functioning,” said Nelson. “As soon as she got home, she must have chiseled away the supports.”
Do you have questions about this project?
Contact: Karen R. Nelson, 4th and 5th Grade teacher nelsonka@tcaps.net
Classroom: 231-933-1672 Main Office: 231-933-1660
Nerf or Nothing
Karen Nelson’s student Will designed a print that was driven by a hobby.
“I’m a little obsessed with Nerf guns right now,” said Will.
Hockey Fan
Shea is a hockey fan. He decided to print himself a hockey puck.
Snowflake
Brianna and Lydia co-designed a snowflake.
2014 Christmas Ornament Competition
The inspiration came from a first ever 3D ornament contest hosted by the Smithsonian and the White House but entries needed to be from people older than the age of 13. We tried having the teacher (Karen Nelson) submit designs but, after posting about a dozen designs, Karen was contacted by the host of the challenge and all designs were disqualified due to the age of the students. Students then made their own contest and the rule was “Must be UNDER the age of 13 to participate”.
The Balls
“The Balls” by Will – 5th grader.
Modern Day Thanks
Karen Nelson has had a high school student from Teacher Academy helping out in the classroom. On his last day, the students made him thank you cards.
Chess Club
Eastern Elementary students have developed a chess club using their gigantic chess set on the playground. Here is a prize – actually a prototype of the price – for the chess club grand champion.
Engineering Fix
Eastern Elementary students created an unique fix to the problem of a spool of filament not fitting onto the filament mount on the back of the Ultimaker 2. As you can see, they were very resourceful using the materials they had in their classroom.
Maddy’s Earrings
These earrings were a test print off of the Ultimaker 2 that Eastern Elementary is currently trying out. Maddy added the earring loop so she could wear them.
