Hands-on Learning: Students Research, Design and 3D Print Fantastic Beasts

Inspired by the Harry Potter follow-up series – Fantastic Beasts, Albion College Art History Professor Bille Wickre taught a First Year Seminar course in fall of 2018 called Fantastic Beasts. This course explored mythical beasts, their representation in history, and their meanings.

For one particular project, Wickre asked students to design their own beasts, combining mythical elements that best represent the student’s personality.

After a class session learning how to design 3D items in the browser-based program TinkerCad, students began designing their pieces. Students combined dragon tails, talons, wings, owls, frogs, fairies and many other elements to create their fantastic beast.

The next step in the process had students watching the process of 3D printing and then fine-tuning their prints. From cutting, sanding, painting and polishing, students perfected their pieces to represent them and their personalities.

At the end of the project, each student had a fantastic beast figurine they could keep. According to Wickre, these figurines were used in additional assignments later in the semester.

If interested in incorporating 3D printing or design into a course at Albion College, please contact . It all starts with a discussion.