Learn . Create . Succeed

GoldieBlox - The Magic of Engineering for Little Girls

What kind of toys do little girls play with?  Do toys influence decisions on how engineering is perceived by girls as they grow up?

When Debbie Sterling looked to buy toys for her friend’s children, there wasn’t much of a selection to explore her engineering passion.   So with her savings, support from family, and a lot of research, she designed and developed GoldieBlox.

GoldieBlox is construction toy and book series, targeted at girls, starting at age 6. Goldie is creative kid who likes to invent things.  With Goldie’s help, you read instructions and design a solution to a problem.  Goldie is not afraid to fail, she never gives up.  Goldie’s friends, a well-dressed bear, pretty ballerina dolphin, and cute puppy, join in the fun to create wonderful things that connect, twirl and swivel. 

GoldieBloxis more than just a game.  It is a movement to show little girls the magic of engineering.  In the US, American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) statistics report 18% women engineering graduates.  Women find other careers after graduation in business, medicine, and law, never practicing their degree.  Simply attend a American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME),  IEEE or SolidWorks user group meeting and you are at 5% women, or less.

 

At Stanford, Debbie took her first engineering class as an elective, she was majoring in art.  Debbie used SolidWorks in class.  Seeing how creative engineers could be, Debbie switched her major to product design.   For eight years she worked as a designer, and then took a big leap of faith with Goldie.  

In US/Canada, you can find GoldieBlox direct or at listed stores on their website or on internationally on Amazon.com.

What fun engineering experience is next for Debbie, Goldie and her friends?  The SolidWorks model below gives a clue. 

The SolidWorks Education team wishes Goldie a life time of engineering magic.  Marie

Fun with Physics and SolidWorks

I have fun with physics.  I have fun with math.   Your students can have fun too with this SolidWorks Motion Tutorial from our friends in Cuda Country. 

Use SolidWorks to create a Car and Track assembly. Then create a Motion Study using functions: Solve as Flexible, Motor, Contacts, Friction, Gravity, suppress Mates and Calculate.

Add Linear Velocity Results and Plots to determine the velocity of the car.

Make adjustments and try to go faster – without the car falling off the track.  Great way to apply STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) subjects in one project.  Marie

 

Build a Great Pyramid with Teachers at Dassault Systemes

How do you combine math, science, technology, engineering, history, art, all to meet education standards in your classroom?  Biology teacher, Matthew Burns and physics teacher, Boris Gokhfeld from Waltham High School, MA, USA, created this project to share with you. 

The Great Pyramid Challenge is a three or four class unit on the engineering design process that helps students achieve national goals in engineering­ and thinking skills.  Students will learn about the engineering design process and practice the steps by building pyramids in teams using common household items. 

Visit the Great Pyramid build phase with Waltham High School students through this video.

Teachers at Dassault Systemes

Boris and Matt are part of Teachers at Dassault Systemes (TADS) program.  TADS combines our 3D Experience technology with innovative projects for the classroom.  The Great Pyramid project was developed for students in middle school and high school.

Corporate Citizenship

The TADS program has been nominated for a Boston College Corporate Citizenship film award.  If you like the project, please support these teachers by voting for Dassault Systemes here.

Downloads

You can download all the lesson plans and worksheets below.  Thank you Boris and Matt for creating such a great project.  Marie

Download Pyramid Project Teacher Edition (final)

Download Khufu Dollar

Download Day 1 Activity (Final)

Download Day 2 student worksheet (Final)

Download Day 2 teacher worksheet (Final)

Download Day 3 Activity (Final)

Presentation: http://prezi.com/jkrj7n5romeq/engineering-design-process/

Made in 3D Contest

My friends at DS are running a contest.  Have you ever wanted to get your product made in 3D?  Check out the rules here.  Deadline is March 3 - you could win a IPAD too!  Marie

 

SolidWorks Tutorials: From SolidWorks Student to SolidWorks Worldwide Mentor

Jan-Willem Zuyderduyn is a Product Designer and creator of www.LearnSolidWorks.com, a website that helps SolidWorks Users with great tutorials.

As a young student, Jan-Willem learned SolidWorks on his own and then studied Product Design and Engineering at Hogeschool Utrecht the Netherlands. Last year, he went back to his college to teach Advanced Surface Modeling with SolidWorks.

 

Jan-William placed third SolidWorks KitCar Design Contest Benelux in 2007 and Burton 3D Kitcar Challenge Europe in 2008 – winning not 1, but 2 Kit Cars.

To share his SolidWorks experience with the rest of the world, Jan-Willian has many free SolidWorks tutorials and Ebooks. You can download the Panton Chair tutorial and many others for free at www.learnsolidworks.com/ebooks.

 Thank you Jan-William for sharing your models. Marie

Klein Bottle in SolidWorks

I've had this part in the back of my mind for quite a while now, and it turned out to be a quick and fun project. I used a Thin-Revolve to make the "base" of this one-sided surface. Two Thin Lofts and several fillets later, I was done. Enjoy, and thanks for viewing!

Dave Knight

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Mechanical Engineering, 2013

Download Klein Bottle

Improving Technology Education Across Ireland with SolidWorks

Changing a country's technology education for its future requires great dedication by  teachers. Technology Subjects Support Services, t4 helped the Department of Education and Skills develop and implement geometry and product design curriculum at second-level (high schools) across Ireland. With t4's help, SolidWorks developed their case study to share with you along with the syllabus and educational materials from their courses.  I wish I could take my high school geometry class over again but this time with SolidWorks. 

The results since 2007:

• Provided 3D CAD access to 142,000 students
• Trained 1,410 teachers in applying 3D CAD across technology projects
• Enhance teaching and learning significantly
• Better prepare students for technology careers.

Examples of the t4 curriculum can be found at www.t4.ie

Syllabus Content from Design and Communication Graphics Course

Part One - Core Areas of Study

Plane and Descriptive Geometry  

• Projection Systems  
• Plane Geometry  
• Conic Sections  
• Descriptive Geometry of Lines and Planes  
• Intersection and Development of Surfaces  

Communication of Design and Computer Graphics  

• Graphics in Design and Communication  
• Communication of Design  
• Freehand Drawing  
• Information and Communication Technologies  

Student Assignment

 Part Two - Optional Areas of Study  

Applied Graphics  

• Dynamic Mechanisms  
• Structural Forms  
• Geologic Geometry  
• Surface Geometry  
• Assemblies

 Thank you, t4 for sharing your curriculum with teachers and students all over the world.  Marie

Professional Development for Teachers this Summer - Free From SolidWorks

If you are a teacher that needs professional development hours before school starts, wants to investigate STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) lessons, needs a great visualization tool, or just wants to learn what Computer Aided Design (CAD) can do for your students, then the SolidWorks Summer Edition Professional Development program for teachers is for you this July. 

I've been there - teaching in public education for 10 years.  You start your summer break and realize in July you didn't register for a needed summer class.  Instead you drove your daughter to swim lessons,  or helped your spouse paint the house.  Yet, you had a plan; read a good novel, clean a closet, and learn something new. 

That's where the SolidWorks Summer Edition comes in.  SolidWorks - 3D Computer Aided Design software application that lets you create 3 dimensional models - that look real, except they use computer software. 

Our commercial customers use SolidWorks to design amazing products that you use every day,  motorcycles, robots, sails, jetpacks (I wish I went to work this way), contact lens, guitars, and shoes. 

In school, teachers and their students create amazing models with SolidWorks to explain their projects, ideas and dreams.

So if you teach technology, math, science, engineering, art, history, English, Spanish, Foreign Language, music, communications  - or any other subject.  SolidWorks is a great skill to know. 

Here are a few examples from teachers around the world:

Technology- SolidWorks uses the latest software technology but it is easy enough for 10 year olds to use in their classroom, developed by teacher, Jack van den Broek, Netherlands. 

Science – the physics behind working machines, the result of products and materials on the environment.  If you need more examples, check out these Speedway tutorials by teacher, Pat Haley, USA. 

Art– just beautiful!  Use SolidWorks with photorealistic rendering.  

Spanish (or other foreign language) – install SolidWorks in Spanish/Chinese (provided your students speak/read another language) to learn how to read technical instructions in that language.  SolidWorks Student Guide is available in 14 languages.

Math – Geometry lessons lead to product design, developed by t4 Ireland.

Engineering – Design is what we do, hundreds of tutorials, global input including sustainable design.

History – recreate historic machines or artifacts like a viking ship, Portugal.

Communications – develop technical instructions and presentations,  Japan.

 

 So, how do you start?

1. Follow the instructions to download and install our SolidWorks Summer Edition.

2. We have created a series of tutorials in Getting Started with SolidWorks. 

3. Review each lesson.  You follow the steps.  There are worksheets you can review, but no homework will be given - after all it is the summer.

If you want a closer look at the SolidWorks community ask questions at our SolidWorks Forum for educators and students or join our www.Facebook.com/SolidWorksEducation page.

Don’t have time this summer? Then forward information on the SolidWorks Summer Edition to your students and their parents.  It will become a great response to “I’m bored.”  Marie

 

 

 

 

EXPIRED: SolidWorks Summer Edition, 3D CAD Software for Students and Educators!

Please note: this offer expired August 31, 2012

 

Are you a student or educator interested in using SolidWorks this summer to learn what it has to offer, or get ahead of the game for next year? Try our FREE download of the SolidWorks Summer Edition for 3D CAD, Sustainability, and FEA / CFD analysis! Follow these instructions to get your copy: 

Sorry, this offer has ended.

SolidWorks Education hosts Regional NASCAR STEM Student Racing Challenge

STEM - Science Technology Engineering and Math.  If you combine these subjects with RC Racing,  Tony Schumacher – U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster and seven-time champion and SolidWorks customer, 25 engineers from the US army and community, along with a great venue from Ten80 Education, you get 200 excited student to shout S--T--E--M and know what it means to their future.

SolidWorks EDU team hosted the NASCAR STEM Student Racing ChallengeThursday at our new DS America's facility in Waltham MA.  Our relator, Hobbs Brooks donate the enormous space and lunch needed for racing the fastest RC cars I've ever seen.

The best quote of the day was from Tony Schumacher who stated "you can't" bring a B game to an A+ race."  He has a racing team of 9 that need to be the best and engineer everything in his car from the very tip in the front to the last component in the back.  Tony also talked to the students about teamwork, the importance of STEM subjects and staying physically fit.

I met president of Ten80 Education, Terri Stripling 5 year ago, with her colleagues and a dream.  A dream of developing K12 program that excited all students around engineering and racing - with a focus on math and physics. Terry - you have created a success!

We all drive a car - girls want to drive as much as boys.  Ten80 makes it exciting for all students to learn about STEM subjects.

 The students moved in groups from event to event.

 Petroleum Independent Transportation (PIT) in this challenge, students charge their electric RC car ‘off the grid’ using renewable energies such as solar, wind, bio fuels and even hydrogen. In this rotation, students:

o Measure the voltage of batteries and examine a completed battery profile. Discuss ways to charge batteries.

o Measure ambient lighting conditions and wind conditions (fan) then discuss various .

o Examine solar and wind charging stations as well as a hybrid hydrogen fuel cell car.

 

The Robot  Race Car is a new project developed in part by MIT Lincoln Labs. It uses an open source Arduino chip and radar sensors. The first challenge is for students to assemble the Robot RaceCar and program it to autonomously drive a circular, walled track as fast as possible with as few crashes as possible. In this rotation, students will see the car in action, discuss the logic you could employ to improve its performance and ‘unpack’ the robot components.

Mechanics Certification & Chassis Setup Investigation students followed the leaders in examining and adjusting the cars. In this rotation, students learn about the car systems and many of the primary variables in optimizing performance of a race car. These include gear ratios, tire type, chassis geometry (camber, caster, toe). They also learn about some of the most common adjustments and repairs.

 Aerodynamics & Fabrication

In this rotation students examined major design variables that impact downforce and drag, the major aerodynamic forces.

 View a demonstration of plate car, wing car and sleek car while their models are showcased on the monitor.

 Look at progression of car body designs and SolidWorks Flow Simulation  (color print / spiral notebook for each group of 3 students) including a plate car, wedge and sleek car body design. The monitor is showing a simulation animation.

 Students predict using crayons, the general aero profile of a 4th car body design while the simulation runs on the monitor. Compare the predictions to the final images.

 Time permitting, students quickly sketch a dream car and annotate the aerodynamic features.

Students went outside on a beautiful spring day into the DS Americas courtyard to talk about fabrication of their future cars.

Driving

Students learned to drive on short oval tracks. 6 Groups of 5-6 students are at each of 6 tracks. A helper shows them how to operate the car then runs a relay race in which one student drives the car around the track and passes the transmitter to the next student. First team to have all 5 students complete a lap wins.

 Why do I like the STEM Racing Challange?  As a former professor of physics, math, and engineering, it is an exciting program for all students and it allows the teacher to use their own creativity while not being overwhelmed by the cost or the contest.  And racing cars, playing with gears and learning about drag is just fun!  Marie