RC-TLC, La Fondation Dassault Systèmes and YMCA Partner to Bring 3D Design to Students

Thanks to funding from Dassault Systèmes U.S. Foundation, Boston-based Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning and Creativity (RC-TLC) has partnered with MetroWest YMCA to bring the joy of 3D design and fabrication to younger, underserved student populations.  YMCA’s program site leaders joined the Reynolds Center team on Dassault Systèmes’ Waltham, Massachusetts campus, where Yume Menghe Xu, a Ph.D. student in STEM Education at Tufts University who also works at Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE Lab, taught the basics of SOLIDWORKS Apps for Kids.

The teams also brainstormed approaches to integrating the design software for the YMCA’s summer and afterschool programs. From designing dinosaurs to rocket ships. The teams were encouraged to see how easy it is for students to create in a 3D space, and then fabricate physical objects with 3D printers.  The teams are working together to adopt a set of web-based 3D design & fabrication tools, which features RC-TLC’s FabMaker Studio STEM program for the younger students, and SolidWorks Apps for Kids 3D software for the older grades.

MetroWest YMCA Executive Director of Education Heidi Kaufman shared, “The recent training on SOLIDWORKS Apps for Kids at the impressive 3DEXPERIENCE Lab was a critical step in the process of developing a new and innovative 3D printing curriculum for our school-age programs this summer. Together, we will reach hundreds of young learners, while fostering a passion for STEM for years to come, and serve as an inspiring model for other YMCAs across the nation.” 

MetroWest YMCA is part of the YMCA youth organization, which serves more than 60 million beneficiaries through a network of 120 global associations. 

RC-TLC’s Executive Director Paul A. Reynolds also attended the training session - and shared his storybooks about STEM, which the teams will be using as part of the YMCA 3D/STEM learning program. Reynolds’ books - including Going Places and the STEAM-Powered Adventures of Sydney & Simon, were illustrated by his twin brother, New York Times #1 best-selling author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds (The Dot, Ish, Sky Color,) whose books have been printed in over 25 languages, and which inspired the global celebration of creativity known as International Dot Day, that has attracted over 26 million participants in 200 countries. 

Andrea Calvin, RC-TLC’s program development director, notes, “With the YMCA’s expertise in the field, and funding support from Dassault Systèmes U.S. Foundation, we’re creating a truly powerful mix of storytelling, creativity, and purposeful design thinking, which we’re confident will help inspire the next generation of creative problem-solvers.”