Project Revisited: Non 3D Printing Tinkercad related projects

 

Recently we've been publishing a series of revisions from project work from the past that has proven to be popular or has involved work over stages and time.

This is because we've had two significant events in the past two weeks, the NZAIMS Games in Tauranga and an additional week of being unavailable.

Next week, which is the last week of school for Term Three, 2026 we will be back in the classroom working on ongoing projects.   

The final showcase that we wanted to highlight was our Non-3D Printing, 3D Printing slideshow.   The idea is that we apply the same context, the same design ideas but the end result would not necessarily result in a physical 3D Print to go with the work.

Primarily we are using Tinkercad and its apps' AR/VR function for this purpose.   In each case we have a highlighted link to another post about the project with further details and information.    In nearly every case these are activities that have been carried out with the classroom here in Auroa, New Zealand.  Thank you for your visit.

Project Revisited: Christmas 3D Printed Slideshow Ideas

 

We have a single term remaining in New Zealand after next week, that is we're about to finish term three shortly.   Next term we have our school production and there's going to be a range of material and projects completed for the end of the year.

As we're currently taking a regular project printing break, and normal service resumes next week, we've been looking back at some of our most popular projects that have been featured on this blog.

Its quite seasonal but next term we'll be completing a range of festive activities as this site has been running now for over ten years we've got a range of activities that have been produced, developed and created by our students.   

This slideshow was updated at the end of last year and featured a range of activities which then double back to various posts on this blog.   We will be updating this again in 2026 however the aim is to have our students create a range of festive themed personalised decorations.

If you have any questions about any of this work you are more than welcome to drop us a line and we're happy to help with guidance.  Merry Christmas everyone.

If you would like a Powerpoint version of this slideshow and a downloadable file you can access this by visiting our 'Facebook Page' which is the companion site to this blog.

Using Tinkercad to create Virtual CAD Designs

 

Last Friday we posted about using Chat GPT to create a teaching resource/challenge information sheet so students could use Tinkercad to design some storage/housing for a Kaibot.

The challenge was to create storage for a Kaibot to also include space in the design for storage of cards.   At this stage of the design challenge the concept and the ideas are virtual - we are not 3D Printing any of the designs until they have had some revision and checking.  If you look at the first example shown left the students have not built a floor or base for this design, although the other aspects of the design are here.

In the example shown left the dimensions of the print will need careful measuring and checking, particularly for the cards that are going to be stored on top of the storage.

The storage itself could potentially be personalised for further details.     Once the exact dimensions of the robot have been identified some consideration to storage such as either a door or a bay to hold the robot in place.

Allowing this to be completed by the students in this capacity means that the entire classroom can be involved in the design process and these examples (which are shared via Seesaw) allow students to view all the examples and consider making adjustments to their own designs and ideas.   

Once this feedback opportunity has been provided we will then be selecting several of the projects and moving forward with the printing process.   Once the physical examples are provided the final step will be looking at the prints and making further adjustments.

Dance Dance Revoultion: Auroa Primary's Special Machine

Thank you for our visit, we are on a mini-break at the moment - we are back to our regular publishing schedule next week, in the meantime we've been revisiting some of our most favourite Auroa Primary School related technology, project and special events.

If there's one piece of technology that we love to highlight which always produces amazement its our full sized DDR Machine! Create by Mr Bloor and the students of our school its a piece of technology that we're constantly adding to! Our students make the music videos media for the machine.   We also hold regular competitions for our students such as last years 'K-Pop Demon Hunters Special'

We've also live streamed the competition which involves our students competing against each other and a range of competitors.  You can view one of our amazing events here.  As always we need to acknowledge Mr Bloor and Sonic Vision Studios and his fantastic work - you can click on the link to his page here.

Celebrating our NZAIMS Success: Virtuall Pinball

 

Recently our Girls Basketball team returned from the 2026 NZAIMS Games Tournament - where our school managed to place fourth in the entire country! 

To celebrate this success Mr Bloor had a special release for our students, a virtual pinball table that is modelled on the players from the team!

This was a lovely touch, where one of our schools amazing Digital pinball tables was adapted to feature the students from our school (the game itself is a modified version of an NBA Pinball game).

Already this year we had another of our famous live streamed virtual Pinball Competitions - where our students competed in teams against each other to determine a tag team champion!'

We are very lucky to have this sort of amazing technology available to our students - you can view this years livestream finals here.

Or if you want to see a spectacular why not watch our 'Fast and Furious Grand Final! This was a competition from five long years ago and is going to be a sequel to the movie for our next drive in!

Market Day 2027 - Coming Soon

 

We have a number of annual or bi-annual events at Auroa Primary School, with this year being a school production that means the next Market Day is scheduled for 2027 where our students will be engaged in running a business and using our skills and design techniques to design and create something special to sell to the local community.

In the slideshow below we went into detail for the products that were produced as well as looking behind the scenes of how they were made and developed.   

This event has a specific tab on this sites which also includes Mr Bloors amazing videos - you can click on the link to this here.    This slideshow below features the links to the products and information about the process that we went through to create each of them.

Projects Revisited: Dolls House and 3D Printed Furniture 2025

 

One of our most popular projects from last year was the 'skip' Dolls House - which we tried to rebuild for use in our junior classrooms.

While we used the laser cutter for the building and 3D Printed all of the furniture the project didn't exactly end up like we had anticipated.

You can follow the entire project, which includes links to each of the different stages, the descriptions and information can be viewed below - or you can view a powerpoint version of this slideshow and locate the downloadable file on our Facebook page.

If you require additional information on this project please drop us a line.