Making life science tangible: 3D-Printing...

As part of my efforts to revamp my Life Sciences philosophy/practices, incorporating STEAM will be indispensable. One element of that effort is to introduce 3D-printing & fabrication in order to create manipulatives/models.   This, of course, will also involve instructing & training the students to use 3D modeling applications that will allow them to create detailed models. I am currently favoring Maxon Cinema 4D as the ideal application, but will be fine with the free & versatile, Blender. Sculptris is also a wonderful additional sculpting tool that will be introduced to 'supplement' Cinema 4D and Blender's native sculpting features. Here are a couple of examples of printed models recently completed.

The time-lapsed video of the human heart. The actual print was approximately 8-hours. The dimensions are 4 in x 3 in x 2 in. Glow-in-the-dark PLA was used. 

Skull print using blue PLA. Sandpaper would be an effective option to smooth the surface.

Below, is a print of the hemoglobin protein. Each dimer was printed in a different color. ADB files can be downloaded from the RCSB Protein Database and/or the World Wide Protein Database. Students will be taught, as part of the programming component of the biology course, to program a modest bio-informatics [bioJava] program capable of, among other functions, visualizing organic molecules in 3D, virtual model. Ultimately, that data will be used to create a data cloud of vertices -> surfaces, to be printed using a 3D printer.

An exciting art-credit elective for biology/life science-minded students would be a [3D]Biomedical Illustration/Imaging course. The course will require students to utilize their fine-arts skills and produce beautiful 3D models, animations/simulations and sketches involving biological concepts, systems and/or organisms.