Students used Makerspace to create and print snowflakes for 3rd grade classroom in Latvia.

Second grade students in Mrs. Grodek’s class recently used their creativity and STEM skills in the district’s Innovation Center to create a special, holiday-themed gift to share with students across the globe in Latvia! With the help of Mike Triska, Technology & Innovation Specialist from NORT2H, Mrs. Grodek’s students learned about designing snowflakes using Tinkercad.com software and the district’s 3-D printers. 

Through completing several Tinkercad training modules, students learned necessary CAD (computer assisted design) steps while also learning the fundamentals of snowflakes. Starting with a basic diamond shape, students discovered the task was challenging and needed to try a few different design tricks before getting their snowflakes to successfully print. Mr. Triska visited the class, gave lots of advice through emails, and was able to correct some design problems by sharing files. In the end, each student created their own snowflake, and each design was printed out as a special gift.

Since 2015, Councilman Andy Celcherts and Mrs. Grodek organized a holiday card exchange with a third-grade class in the Celcherts’ family hometown in Stenci, Latvia. The holiday card exchange has grown over the years. Earlier in the fall, Mrs. Grodek’s class created back to school bookmarks and both classes exchanged class photos. This year, Mrs. Grodek’s class packed up the snowflakes with special holiday greetings and sent them to the school in Stenci. Plans are in the works for a virtual meet-up for the two classes in February. A special thank you to Mrs. Grodek and Councilman Celcherts for providing this unique learning and cultural exchange experience!