Engineers and architects have adopted 3D in their work. Shouldn’t it bother us that our kids still labor in 2D? To enter the school system is to hear “Let’s take out our pencils and paper” Onto this 2D medium, kids learn to abstract the 3D world. So pervasive is this experience that it appears normal, natural. But it’s not. The world is not 2D.
Wanting to change all that is SolidWorks Apps for Kids, a browser-based, modeling application, that will let you create 3D models by pushing and pulling on simple shapes.
Apps uses a subdivision modeler, developed by the SOLIDWORKS team, so don’t confuse it with desktop applications. It’s different.
“Apps for Kids runs in the cloud,” says Marie.
“Kids as young as 4 can use SOLIDWORKS Apps for Kids to create models in 3D,” says Marie Planchard, the tireless head of education programs at SOLIDWORKS.
Apps for kids was just awarded “Editors Choice” at NYC’s Maker Faire, attended by an estimated 100,000 people.
There’s a minimal interface with Apps for Kids, and the lack of language (symbols only) make it ideal for kids anywhere,” says Marie, who travels the world in her duties to make sure SOLIDWORKS is well represented in colleges and universities – and with Apps for Kids, hoping to extend that to Kindergarten.
Almost any kid. “We do ask for birthdays, so younger than thirteen need a parent or guardian to help sign up.”
Marie Planchard, tireless champion of education at DS SolidWorks, where she shows output from Apps for Kids.
How Much?
“It’s free,” says Marie. It’s no surprise if you know Marie, who is always spreading good will in schools from Boston to Bhutan without regard to profit. “We just want to break even,” she says.
So what’s in for SOLIDWORKS, asks the ever-skeptical reporter.
It won’t hurt us to lay a 3D base for future engineers, says Marie.
The product is currently in public beta. You can try it here.