Today's students will take 3-D printing toa whole new level, says Stratasys

High school student Elijah Rosalez inspects a 3-D printed steering wheel, commenting on how heavy it is. Photo from

Matt Weber/Minneapolis Star Tribune/TNS.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — Stratasys Ltd. employees were very busy earlier this month.

They dashed to dozens of Twin Cities schools to introduce 3,500 students to the

wonderment of 3-D printing.

Stratasys manufactures 3-D printers and 3-D production systems for companies to use to

make models of their new designs. Companies also buy the machines to make 3-D items

to sell directly to the public.

The school-visit marathon was the company's first large-scale effort to instantly reach out

to thousands of students about the so-called STEM fields of science, technology,

engineering and math. It came together with 93 students visiting the company's

headquarters in a partnership with the national black college sorority Delta Sigma Theta.

By Star Tribune, adapted by Newsela staff on 04.26.17

Word Count 711

Level 1220L

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"So many kids and teachers and principals are intrigued about 3-D printing because they

see it on TV, but a lot of times they don't get to engage with it. This changes that," said

Jesse Roitenberg. He is Stratasys' national education manager. "3-D printing makes sense

to people when they can touch and feel and hold it," Roitenberg said.

Expanding The Outreach Program

In the past, a Stratasys employee here or there visited their child's school for career day.

But for this outreach week, they invited anyone in the company to go out to a school and

talk about what they do for Stratasys and what Stratasys does.

About 80 employees helped with the effort that reached 31 schools. Each volunteer had an

educational kit, videos and some fun 3-D printed products to introduce kids to the

technology and what a career in manufacturing and engineering could look like.

The teens that visited Stratasys came from nine different schools. They were all part of the

Deltas' Empowering Males to Build Opportunities for Developing Independence Scholars

(EMBODI) program, designed to help young African-American males reach their potential

in education and in life. During the visit, the students gawked, squinted, pulled and

giggled while using Stratasys design software and printers to convert digital drawings into

3-D salt shakers.

Stratasys, with $672 million in annual earnings, normally sells its large printing machines to

manufacturers such as Airbus, Siemens, Ford Motor Co., Tesla and other industrial giants.

Taking A Closer Look At How 3-D Printing Works

While the technology has grown into a $6 billion industry, the students of today "will be very

key to taking 3-D printing to a whole new level," said Rich Garrity, president of Stratasys

Americas.

While listening, Ronelle Porter, a 15-year-old high school student, scanned a table of

sample products, grabbed a 3-D printed steering wheel and pretended to race it. He

thumped a 3-D printed brake pedal to test its strength.

Nearby, Demond Bryant Jr., age 16, felt the model of a heart that doctors had practiced on

before doing actual surgery.

"I've never had this much of a hands-on experience with 3-D printing," he said. "I didn't

know about its medical applications before. This is pretty cool."

In the station next door, Caleem Williams pressure-washed a freshly printed velociraptor

head until inches of molding gel slid off. That left him with a sharp-toothed little beast that

became a keepsake key chain.

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Just As Much Fun For The Adults

"These are cool. I've never seen this before in person. If I wasn't told this was 3-D printed,

you would never know," said Caleem, who is 17 years old. Now he can't wait for his school

to get a 3-D printer so he can make diorama models for his anatomy class. Chaperones for

the day were black principals, engineers and financial experts from 3M, Medtronic,

Optum, Bank of America, Ritchie Engineering, robotics firm CZX Solutions and Delta

Sigma Theta.

"I know this is supposed to be for the kids, but this is just fantastic," said Michael Roberts

from Optum as he peered through 3-D printed truck-engine housings. "I'm as excited

about this as they are."

Miquel McMoore, a Stratasys recruiter, arranged the partnership with Delta EMBODI. The

Deltas have several programs for girls. The EMBODI effort for boys, however, is in its third

year, she said.

"I have been with Stratasys for two years. And this company fits exactly what EMBODI is,"

she said. "We are very STEM-focused."

Pleased that the students learned so much and had so much fun, "we will do this again,"

she said.

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Quiz

1 Read the paragraph from the introduction [paragraphs 1-4].

"So many kids and teachers and principals are intrigued about 3-D

printing because they see it on TV, but a lot of times they don't get to

engage with it. This changes that," said Jesse Roitenberg. He is

Stratasys' national education manager. "3-D printing makes sense to

people when they can touch and feel and hold it," Roitenberg said.

What does this paragraph accomplish?

(A) It emphasizes how the program has helped kids.

(B) It shows why new technology is not understood.

(C) It describes who is involved in the program.

(D) It explains who uses 3-D printing.

2 HOW do the first and final paragraphs of the article relate to one another?

(A) The first paragraph explains the goal of the school visit, and the last

paragraph provides a testimonial about its success.

(B) The first paragraph states where the program operates, and the last

paragraph focuses on its expansion.

(C) The first paragraph shows who participated in the school visit, and the last

paragraph highlights next steps.

(D) The first paragraph emphasizes actions and numbers, and the last

paragraph shows what the company's goals are.

3 Read the paragraph from the section "Expanding The Outreach Program."

Stratasys, with $672 million in annual earnings, normally sells its large

printing machines to manufacturers such as Airbus, Siemens, Ford

Motor Co., Tesla and other industrial giants.

What is the meaning of the phrase "industrial giants" as used in the above sentence?

(A) emerging technologies

(B) prominent manufacturers

(C) well-known businesses

(D) profitable companies

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4 Read the sentence from the section "Taking A Closer Look At How 3-D Printing Works."

While listening, Ronelle Porter, a 15-year-old high school student,

scanned a table of sample products, grabbed a 3-D printed steering

wheel and pretended to race it.

The author uses the word "scanned" to mean:

(A) made a copy

(B) examined carefully

(C) captured an image

(D) viewed quickly

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 5