AR/VR Design Creating 'Not Lego: Lego'

 

We blogged recently about the store purchased 'Not Lego: Lego' that  had been created as a set for a figure.

Our first challenge involving this set was for the students to create a figure that could fit into this scene.   The figure needed to be a 'Lego' like figure.  You can see our post about that here.   Next steps from here was to manipulate the figure and combine it with a pic collage figure as shown here.

Finally we applied a challenge for the students to create a piece of furniture that could fit in with the scene.   This is slightly more complicated than the figure as the idea for the students to 'hide' something that replicates the scene so much that it appears to fit (as opposed to the cartoon figures of several of the 'Lego' designs).  

We have previously used this process in a number of ways - most notably with our #tinkercadhunt challenge from last year.   That post is linked here when we used our Lamb and Pet Day school dioramas to place an original figure within a location.

In this instance if you view the two screenshots from the students iPad the additional added design should be obvious which is the table in the top right hand corner.  In the first instance the student had a design they felt that fit with the scene but when reviewing the creation with other students realised that the size was too small and attracted attention as a result of that.   The student also was not sure about the colour scheme.

The timeframe to create this was just a few minutes - the 'Not Lego' set had been made up previously, the students design was quickly created, and they wanted to add some items on the table to distract the line of sight.   The student was thrilled with this (non 3D Printing result).   We have also previously published entire slideshows of 'Non Printing 3D Printing Ideas' that involve Tinkercad and an iPad.  You can view that slideshow here - we will be updating it shortly for this years additions.

2025 Year in Review - Tinkercad Hunt

In October 2025 we had our Auroa Primary School Pet Day - this is the biggest event as part of the school year, where there are a range of activities, one of which is the whimsical diorama build.

We took this as an opportunity to refine our students 3D building skills - by using the dioramas as the background for some unique Tinkercad building!  With the students using their iPads to take photographs of the display the students then used their iPads and the Tinkercad App to create something that could fit into the scene.   When the students had completed the design they then took their iPads back to the diorama and added the creation, the object into the scene virtually and took a photograph of the final result.  This taught the students about the composition and the design details and also refined their design skills.  In the example shown top left in the Christmas grotto scene the 'Snowman' that dominates the front left of the design is not actually there!

This task was completed by a class of seven and eight year olds independently and the slideshow below shows a range of photographs taken by the students on the day.   We will be trying again with this process and this task next year in several forms.

#Tinkecadhunt - Inside the Classroom

 

We started this activity previously with our use of Tinkercad working in conjunction with the iPad app and using its AR/VR function.

The objective for the students was to use the program to create an object that could be there in the circumstances and was 'normal'.   In the example shown left the iMac laptop is not there - it has been projected in.

In this example the student considered the placement of the objects that were around the projected image.   A scene was created using the objects that the student would usually use in the classroom on her desk.

The object that is projected into the scene is in front of the pencil case on the right hand side of the scene.  It is  in itself a 3D print that the student has used and has on display on her desk.

We have another slideshow of examples of this activity that will be published later this week.

AR/VR Exemplar - TInkercad #tinkercadhunt

 

While this site started as an example of 3D Printing as we have mentioned in the past it has evolved over time to include a range of technology related ideas.

We've primarily used Tinkercad for our design with the students and looked for examples and ideas in ways we can use it or similar programs.   This slideshow below is a range of further examples using the AR/VR button from Tinkercad to create and design objects and then place them into a scene.  This was completed by seven and eight year old students.