Books and 3D Printing: the Library Book Recommendation Vending Machine

 So much of the collaboration that I engage in is with co-teachers at my school or with and among my students but one of the best sources for sharing ideas and collaborating with fellow educators, for me, has been on social media, especially Twitter. I have followed so many great educators and creative people that also spark new ideas for books, projects, additions to the library space and more. I believe this is another way the “School library provides opportunities for school librarians to connect and work with the learning community by: Facilitating diverse social and intellectual learner networks” (School Library III.C.1). This summer I came across a post from a makerspace teacher that sparked an idea for a great start of the year book, design and technology project for my fourth graders, a toy vending machine!

I have followed @designmaketeach on twitter for years and have been inspired by a lot of the projects he does with his high school students in the school makerspace. Over the summer I came across this tweet:

I loved these machines as a kid! The excitement of twisting the dial to see what toy, stickers, or cool bouncing ball you would get. This sparked an idea, what if fourth graders designed small 3D prints that would go in the machine with a book review for our third graders. I decided to give it a try and have this be the first project of the school year for my fourth grade students. I was able to purchase the machine and the acorn containers that hold the small toys. I chose the machine that did not need a quarter or token to get a toy. We were all set to start the project.

Fourth graders started by thinking about a book that they loved to read in third grade and thought our current third graders would like too. Students shared with each other and talked about what books would be great recommendations for third graders. This process was a way for students to discuss books with each other and also think about what they would like to share with fellow learners. Students were “actively contributing to group discussions” (Learner III.D.1).

Students then wrote out a description of the book and then crafted a two to three sentence teaser about the story to get a third grader excited to read the book, the thought of it like a short commercial. We shared an assignment through Google Classroom with a template for the book slips that would go in the acorn containers. Students included the title, author and call number of the book. We did some editing and revisions on the teaser slips and the students were ready to move to the next step of the project.

Next came the challenge, fourth graders needed to design an object that was connected to the book. They sketched out their ideas and planned their designs. Some designs included beanstalk from the Land of Stories, a hamburger from Stick Dog, and more.

Then we did a refresher tutorial on how to use Tinkercad, our online 3D design software. Students worked on using the shapes and items in the software library to build and make their designs. We also focused on measurements. Students measured their designs using the tools in the software and then measured the acorn containers that their objects would need to fit into. Then fourth graders started designing and working on their 3D objects. They were creative using the shapes in the library and then adjusting and re-adjusting their objects to make sure their measurements were correct. After the designs were completed, students uploaded their files to the library website to be 3D printed.

Next came the test, did their prints come out the way they wanted and could they fit into the vending machine acorns? Some prints worked, some were too small and some were too big, others had to make adjustments to parts or pieces of their designs. Back to the design process and another iteration of their 3D prints, students made adjustments to their 3D files, resubmitted them and printed the designs.

Once the prints were the correct size and design the fourth graders wanted, they added color details to their designs with markers, printed out their book commercial slips and assembled their vending machine acorns.

The book recommendations and 3D printed objects were added to the library book recommendation machine ready to spread the word about some awesome books for third graders. The project was a great success, fourth graders were thoughtful about their book recommendations and spent time learning more about the 3D design process. They also went through the iterative process, printing out their designs and making changes if the print did not work. Fourth graders learned that design is a process and it might not be successful the first time. It has also been wonderful to see the third graders so excited about the machine, looking at the book recommendation and making a connection with the 3D print and learning about some new books.