Museums with Makey Makey and 3D Printing

Overview

This is a project that was planned and implemented in our school (Experimental Elementary School of Florina) in the 2017-2018 school year.

Students created three museums with artifacts printed in the School’s 3D printer. In front of every artifact there is a DIY touch sensor (two metal pieces) and when someone touches them the museum starts a narrative for the specific artifact along with images and info displayed on the screen.

The main theme of the museums is to present the sculptures, statues and other artifacts that are associated with Ancient Greek Culture and are in museums abroad.

After a short inquiry our students concluded in creating the following three museums :

• The Louvre Museum

• The British Museum

• A World Museum (other artifacts scattered in many museums all over the world)

Part 1

All the 3d models where downloaded from thingiverse and my mini factory and where manufactured in our 3d printer using the Repetier software.

Our students searched for available info in wikipedia and recorded them in audio form. They also downloaded photos and created three scratch programs (one for every museum) that included the audio, text and image info.You can download the programs from here: Scratch programs – museums

Students used wood, plexiglass and other materials to construct the three museums. They glued the Makey Makey boards and wiring under the museums floor and connected them with the DIY touch sensors.

Part 2

In the final stage students created a sign with colored lights for each museum.

Our students presented their work in various festivals and exhibitions at the end of the school year.