Project Upcycle

Students upcycle waste materials at their school by combining them with 3D printed forms to create useful products - available to subscribers of The PrintLab Classroom

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Project Overview

In this creative project, students will upcycle waste materials at their school by combining them with 3D printed forms to create useful products. The project begins with a presentation and a precedent case study about sustainable design social enterprise - Goldfinger Factory. Students then investigate what waste materials are thrown away by their school, before giving them new life through an iterative design process. Finally, each student will develop an article for the school newsletter to educate people about the importance of
upcycling and how to get involved.

**With thanks to Goldfinger Factory**

Curriculum Details

The lesson can be incorporated into the study of maths, design technology, and computing. The material can be adapted for ages 8-16. The curriculum is aligned to ISTE, NGSS, CCSS and UK National Curriculum standards. A comprehensive list of standards met is included in the lesson platform.

Included Resources:

  • Upcycling case study video (hosted on PrintLab's student portal)

  • Class presentation (Google Slides and PDF)

  • Example upcycled model (STL)

        • Video design tutorials in Tinkercad and Fusion 360 (hosted on PrintLab's student portal)

        • Assessment rubric (Google Docs and PDF)

                Self-Paced Learning Option

                PrintLab's student portal is home to the online learning resources required for each of PrintLab’s lesson plans (CAD tutorial videos, explainer videos etc), but it is also structured in such a way that gives users the option to work through each project online in a self-paced manner without a teacher/instructor. The perfect solution for distance learning, 3D printing clubs, passion projects or self-paced learning at libraries and makerspaces.

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