What educational opportunities have 3D printers brought to elementary schools in the 2022/2023 school year?

In the 2022/2023 school year, classrooms became an arena for innovative learning, thanks to the introduction of the government's program "Laboratories of the Future". Students have gained an extraordinary opportunity to use 3D printers every day during classroom activities. More than 450 Omni3D devices - including Omni200 and OmniSTART-have made their way into schools, bringing new opportunities, sparking students' creativity and developing their future competencies.

The Laboratories of the Future program is an innovative government initiative to bring modern technology into schools and develop the skills needed for the professions of the future. 3D printers have become an integral part of it, and their impact on teachers and students over the past school year is undeniable.

3D printers have enabled students to create three-dimensional objects and models in classrooms. Not only in art or technology classes, but also in science or humanities.

Thanks to Omni3D’s proprietary library of prints, teachers were able to easily find 3D models useful for teaching specific subjects. Very quickly, however, the ready-made models became an inspiration for students to create their own projects! Students became designers and creators of their own ideas, gaining the opportunity to put the knowledge they gained into practice. We received many photos testifying to the extraordinary creativity of the kids.

We systematically contacted users of Omni200 and OmniSTART printers supporting them with content, sending thematic and occasional print ideas, e.g. for Christmas, Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day. In addition, we provided training, technical support, and different colored PLA filaments.

Thanks to such active cooperation with schools, we increasingly understand the needs of the education industry and the students and teachers themselves. We have already planned a series of webinars, meetings and products that we will implement in the next school year.

The introduction of 3D printers as part of the Future Laboratories program was a great success. Feedback coming directly from educators and students testify that the lessons have definitely become more interesting, engaging and modern! Creating three-dimensional models depicting abstract mathematical concepts or historical events stimulated the imagination of students, and thus made initially difficult to imagine issues become logical, interesting and easy to remember. By stimulating and influencing all the students’ senses, the prints strengthened the understanding and assimilation of material even in biology, chemistry or mathematics.

The most important advantage of such machines is that they incredibly develop creativity. Thanks to them, students can experiment, create unique projects and realize their ideas, and all this happens on school grounds. As a result, teamwork competencies, for example, are strengthened, becoming an attractive alternative to spending time alone in front of a phone screen. Creative expressions and passions are strengthened, and the development of skills in design and construction is greatly facilitated. Acquiring these practical skills will be extremely valuable on the job market in the future.

The 2022/2023 school year was undoubtedly a watershed in education. Teachers had the opportunity to introduce new teaching techniques and students to experience learning in a whole new way. We hope that this is just the beginning of an educational revolution. We look forward to the next phase of the Laboratories of the Future program, which will enable secondary schools to be equipped with similar equipment.

As a manufacturer of 3D printers and software, we want to provide more schools not only with 3D printers, filaments (printing materials), but also with all the content support to help them learn how to print and design. We want to have an impact on changing attitudes towards learning and knowledge acquisition.

By providing service support, we want to make sure that the Omni200 and OmniSTART printers will work flawlessly and serve the school community for a wide range of tasks, including restoring broken everyday items and equipment at school.

A 3D printer can also be used for just that. Below is just such an example:

Pic. Gears necessary for proper operation of paper towel containers in school bathrooms.

„We have very often faced the problem of buying sprockets due to frequent wear and tear, and here we are! We received a finished design (made by a parent of one student). We made minor adjustments, then printed it on an Omni200 printer – and we got it!” – says a teacher of the School and Kindergarten Complex in Leczyce

We look forward to the next school year and the challenges posed by increasingly knowledgeable teachers and students in the world of 3D printing.

See you in September 2023! 😊