During the experimental schedule last week the Freshmen Conceptual Physics class worked through a design challenge to create unique mixed-media (and functioning) musical instruments, drawing on their knowledge of sound waves. At least one part of their instrument had to designed in Tinkercad and printed on the 3D printer, with the rest of the instrument created from materials in our maker-space.
During the 2.5 hour class we spent some time discussing the types of musical instrument, how they work and what the cross-section of the main body of different instruments actually contains. Students then had 30 minutes to prototypes their ideas, 30 minutes to create precise technical drawings of their designs (either on paper or using a sketching tool like Notability on their iPads) and the final hour was spent in the Science computer lab creating their 3D parts.
In a couple of weeks, once all the parts are printed, students will construct their instruments together, and then as a group create some kind of musical performance piece. A selection of photographs and screenshots of their work from the day can be seen below:
