The donation of a 3D printer in early May to Mrs. Hahn-Chaney’s high school Information Technology class launched new exploration into 3D printing and a $1,000 grant also received recently is helping fund equipment and supplies for the printer, as well as supporting the offering of a computer science summer class for students in grades 4-8.

The CR-10 Creality 3D printer, which was in excellent used condition, was donated by ACS parent David Santos and once in place, Santos helped set up the printer, including downloading slicing software onto a computer linked to the printer.

“My students were very excited to have a 3D printer to use in class,” Hahn-Chaney said. “One student, Zachary Fosbenner, already had a lot of knowledge about 3D printers and we’ve been learning together and making small items like sunglasses, a purple ball, and a glow-in-the-dark planet.” The students also used a software called Tinker-CAD to make their own custom luggage tags.

To help provide funds to support the educational use of the 3D printer, Hahn-Chaney applied for and received a $1,000 grant in May from the Computer Science of New Jersey Coalition (CS4NJ).  The grant funds were generously provided to CS4NJ by Google to support New Jersey computer science education.

“We are so grateful for this grant that will help us purchase more PLA and TPU filaments, which are the raw materials used to make any 3D item,” Hahn-Chaney said. The grant will also be used to purchase a laser leveler for the 3D printer and will support the activities of the computer science summer class that Hahn-Chaney will be teaching from July 10-14 from 10 a.m. to noon, open to 4th-8th grade students.

Hahn-Chaney said the Information Technology class will be offered again to high school students in the fall of 2023 and learning 3D printer design will be a part of that class.

CLICK HERE for more information and to register for the summer computer science class.