SAN ANTONIO – The Scobee Education Center at San Antonio College took a step toward the future of the space program with new 3D printers.
The printers are part of a newly announced partnership between the Challenger Center and printer maker New Matter.
Students at Cosmic Kids Camp had a chance to use the Mod-T printer on Tuesday during a lesson about force, motion and coding using ozobots.
“They chase lines and different patterns make them do different things,” said a student named John.
“It’s pretty much like melting plastic into what you want to make, and it’s really cool to watch,” said a student named Alessandra.
The students will get the chance to print pieces representing the solar system and a Texas pinhole viewer, which will show the path of this summer’s solar eclipse. It’s an up-close look at how astronauts will be using similar equipment in space.
“As we go on these deep space missions, there's no way to bring all the spare parts and all the supplies you need. So 3D printers are expected to provide a really critical tool to those astronauts on those missions. And the kids in here today learning about these things are going to be the engineers, scientists and astronauts of tomorrow,” said Steve Schell, CEO and co-founder of New Matter.
At $300 apiece, the printers are affordable enough for schools to purchase. The Scobee Education Center is the first to receive the printers, and more will be delivered to other centers over the next few months.
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