Thanks to the experimental environment provided to reflect their imagination, there is no limit to what kids can create with Tinkercad. It is a great instructive 3D design program that is designed carefully to make it enjoyable for kids while teaching the basics of designing, mechanics, electronics, and coding. With the help of the 3D printing feature, it is also possible to have a physical model of their design.

What is Tinkercad?

Tinkercad is an online 3D modeling program that enables users to design simple and complex objects and builds electronic circuits and coding blocks to control these objects, in a kid-friendly way. Children can design, modify, and print 3D objects, and experiment with electronic circuits while learning coding skills. Overall, it is a great 3D design software for children to improve their STEM skills. 

What is Tinkercad Used for?

3D Design

Tinkercad is mainly used for the design and development of mechanical products, combined with electronic components and software. It can be also used for simple architectural designs such as planning a house. 

3D Printing

3D design and printing are very convenient with Tinkercad such that students will see the objects that they create. The only limit is their imagination in creating their favorite objects or exercising their innovative minds. 

How to Use Tinkercad?

Users can easily create primitive geometrical shapes but the program allows users to create custom shape generators using a built-in JavaScript editor. Therefore, there is no limit to designing and printing 3D objects. 

Nearly any solid body can be designed and created with Tinkercad. Besides, kids can program, assemble electronic circuits and simulate their engineering skills to observe real-life physics. They can even add their circuits into 3D design and print models with circuit assemblies. It is a great environment for kids to improve their abstract thinking while allowing them to materialise what they imagine as well.

Why Should Kids Learn Tinkercad?

Tinkercad is a great environment for kids to improve their 3D thinking, design skills, as well as their creativity. They can reflect their imagination freely by designing, modifying, and 3D printing the objects they create.  

Spatial Awareness

One of the most important functions of Tinkercad is that it enables kids to gain spatial awareness. In the Tinkercad platform, they can see objects in 3D format and examine them from different angles. It is a highly beneficial feature for kids to understand solid shapes in geometry and develop their 3D thinking ability. 

Architectural Skills

In addition to that, kids can see the real-life equivalent of the objects through 3D printing models. By designing objects and implementing them for real-life use, they develop basic engineering and architectural skills. For instance, a 12-meter 3D-printed pedestrian bridge was built in Amsterdam very recently, which is a great example of the capability of 3D printing.

Creativity

Since this is a great example of learning-by-doing, Tinkercad provides an invaluable environment for kids to improve their STEM skills along with their creativity by designing all kinds of projects. So, Tinkercad is a great opportunity for kids to reveal and further explore their potential in different fields.

What Can Kids Do with Tinkercad?

Print 3D action figures

Children can design their favorite characters from games, movies, and animations or design their own from scratch by using their imagination and creativity skills. Then, thanks to the 3D print option of Tinkercad, they can print their designs as 3D action figures and make a collection of them. By applying their design and creative skills, they can also 3D print toys, keychains, bracelets, or whatever they can come up with.

Minecraft Mod

Tinkercad can easily integrate with Minecraft which allows users to build their Minecraft universe faster and can create more complex shaped designs. Thanks to the integrated system between the two platforms, kids can easily export their Tinkercad designs to the Minecraft world. You can watch the whole process here.

Besides, they can also check out the designs of other users by searching the existing Tinkercad gallery and exporting them if they want. In this way, Tinkercad also enables collaborative work among users.

Create a LEGO Model

Tinkercad allows user to convert their design into different forms and structures. Converting your design into a LEGO model is one of the most fun examples of it. You create your design and Tinkercad can convert it to a LEGO model for you. In this way, children can easily build any LEGO model they want by having a certain prototype to guide them. 

In addition to that, by printing LEGO bricks, they can even create their own LEGO design with the help of the 3D printing option of Tinkercad.

Collaborative Work

Tinkercad offers tutors various lesson plans that they can discuss with their students and create projects collaboratively. It allows them to create Tinkercad Classrooms, where members can join and work on a project together by brainstorming in private groups. Each student makes a contribution by providing their design ideas. While increasing interaction with their peers, with the help of lesson plans such as designing a flood solution or creating a wheelchair for difficult terrains, children can gain awareness of certain environmental issues and develop a sense of social responsibility. 

Design Electronic Circuits

Another beneficial feature of Tinkercad is to design electronic circuits. You can design simple electronic circuits using an integrated block-based code editor in Tinkercad. The structure of this coding system is similar to Scratch and very easy to apply for kids. In this way, they can introduce to engineering while learning the basics of coding. Kids can design electronic circuits, add them into their 3D design and print the full system with circuit assemblies.