Frogs rejoice at new 3D printed dissection kit

Frogs and bored students alike celebrate technologies disemboweling of the old stereotypical dissect-a-frog lesson plan with the arrival of this cool new 3D printed dissection kit.

 

Filleting frogs has often been the go-to staple for exploring anatomy, adaption and evolution. But nowadays, this kind of biological butchering is seen as outdated, while not necessarily unethical it certainly feels icky (not least because of the gooey frog mess). The irony of studying and revering nature by destroying it may not be lost on many of the schools, but the knowledge gained through dissection has been seen to outweigh the big pile of empty frogs at the end of the lesson.

 

Once again, however, a bold new use of 3D printing has created a renewable solution. This plastic frog contains realistic frog organs arranged like puzzle pieces. While students may miss out on the more “hands on” side of dissection, with this kit and its accompanying lesson plan, students will “research their frog and its habitat, dissect the frog, and consider how its anatomy adapted to its environment”. The only real difference here is that you don’t have to trust the students with scalpels and the frog is less squishy.

 

This seems like a neat way to illustrate the uses of a 3D printer outside the subject of design technology, which makes sense when you see it was created by MakerBot Academy as part of their initiative to improve the teaching of STEM topics by putting a desktop 3D printer in every school in America.

 

If you are interested in 3D printed educational projects, want to find out more on how 3D printing could affect your life or just want to get involved in one of world’s most creative communities check out MakerClub.org and sign up to find out about our IndieGoGo campaign launching later this October.