Middle School Students learn 3D Design as part of new STEM Program

By Mary Lim 

Santa Cruz Catholic School kicked off a new part of their Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Program this year: 3D Design. In this program, students learn how to design and print tools using 3D design software and 3D printers. Middle school Math/Science/Theology teacher, Dr. Rene Corrales, is leading Santa Cruz in this state-of-the-art technology program. “3D design and fabrication is the future in engineering and manufacturing,” says Corrales, “To design a needed part or tool using 3D software, it is essential to have a 3D printer to produce it. The idea that students should learn about this in middle school is key to building a lifetime of experience so that these students will have the skillset to be major contributors to the future of design and manufacturing.” 

The 3D Design program is modeled after the curriculum developed by Kelly Francis at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School. The program at Santa Cruz Catholic School is funded by Cummings Aerospace – where Francis is employed and from where the 3D printers are donated – and The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures, with whom the 3D Design Program will collaborate on miniature exhibits. Francis developed the curriculum for 3D Design over a year ago and introduced it as an elective class at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School when her son and his class showed an interest.  

As the middle school Math and Science teacher at Santa Cruz, Dr. Corrales is very passionate about bringing his students the best and most innovative learning opportunities available. He says that “Santa Cruz Catholic School has always been a place where creativity is the motivating force in the science program, partially because funding is traditionally low.”  

Corrales explains that when he taught a unit on the physics of motion, his students built a cart out of cardboard, cutting every piece by hand, from the wheels to the steering mechanics. The students’ design needed to roll, travel straight, and function on a ramp – you can imagine the risk of injury there is when cutting such precise pieces out of cardboard by hand! With his current students’ best interests in mind and with the hopes of advancing the program for future students, Corrales wrote a grant proposal to Toshiba American Foundation to obtain a laser cutter so that students could accomplish those tedious cutting tasks with a safer tool and cleaner, quicker results. That laser cutter is now used for similar classroom projects, including making balsa wood airplanes.  

Corrales’ innovative thinking, the creativity of the students, and access to more advanced technology has “naturally led to increasing the hands-on STEM activities available to students in the eighth grade,” says Corrales. It’s an exciting time at Santa Cruz, and Corrales is fully dedicated to ensuring that the program lives up to its potential and continues to grow with the ever-developing technology available to the Diocese of Tucson's schools.  

Dr. Corrales explains that “it is essential that students learn to use their hands and minds to create things to improve the world around them. This is our goal at Santa Cruz, that by bringing in modern technological concepts into the classroom, the students will leave here inspired to create solutions to community and world issues.” Corrales is already seeing this happening with his students after only a few weeks of the curriculum being integrated into their classrooms.  

In the early classes, students are introduced to the basic concepts of what it takes to design 3D objects – they don’t use a 3D printer for several weeks until they have learned the 3D Computer Aided Design (TinkerCAD) software.  

Speaking of the students’ learning process with the software, Corrales says, “Their enthusiasm to learn [TinkerCAD software] exceeded their own expectations! To see them get frustrated and then suddenly, you hear the squeals, ‘I did it!’ – it is a great sign of persistence and success.” 

Dr. Corrales is working hard with the 3D Design curriculum team to plan exciting projects for Santa Cruz eighth graders. The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures will be collaborating in the near future with Santa Cruz Catholic School to provide an architectural design curriculum. Corrales says “it will add a new element of science with an emphasis in thermodynamics, which is an area of my expertise.” 

The school community’s interest in the physical sciences has noticeably increased. Teachers, staff, and parents alike notice students raising the bar for themselves in anticipation of these challenging design quests, eager to be able to fully participate. Corrales sees the program as benefitting not just the middle school, but even the younger grades as they look forward to what is available to them in their upcoming academic years. He says, “I see this maker-learning environment to be the standard at our school that will extend to younger grades over the next few years.” 

 

Dr. Corrales mentions that his Catholic faith has also been a big motivator in the recent months of developing and implementing this new physical science program. Corrales teaches Theology at Santa Cruz as well, and he strives to integrate his passion for the sciences and the environment with his strong faith and the lessons that he passes on to his students daily. He takes special care to help students recognize their gifts and to help them see how those gifts can be used to help the world and others who share this world with them. “[I emphasize that we are] the caretakers of our planet,” says Corrales, “and [that we need to] seek ways to fix things and prevent any further degradation of our planet.” Exposing students to 3D Design at this early age will hopefully inspire them to come up with creative solutions for the environment, too! 

Dr. Corrales states his ultimate mission and hope for the new 3D Design program and for his students: “We are here to provide students an enriching experience that will help them invent the person they want to become and seek out the goodness in the world about them.” 

 

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