SPB25 EC Technology and Art

Each group formed by four students from different nationalities is given 3D printed connectors and straws as well as a guide to create the structures which progress in difficulty. Students have to cooperate to build all the structures check their knowledge, agree on the way to work and distribute the tasks. In this hands-on workshop, they explore the intersection of art, geometry (maths), technology through the construction of modular 3D structures.

Students build a series of geometric polyhedra — starting from simple shapes and progressing toward more complex structures.
*Materials: each group receive a set of. 3D-printed connectors (various colours for each polyhedron type), plastic drinking straws (standard diameter), printed reference sheets showing each structure (tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, dodecahedron, icosahedron, cuboctahedron, rhombicuboctahedron, icosidodecahedron).

*The instructions are clearly set out to guide the students through the activity:
1- Start simple: Begin with the tetrahedron or cube using the matching connectors.

2- Build step by step: Move on to more complex shapes

3- Work in teams: Share tasks - cutting, connecting, holding, stabilizing.

4- Think like artists and engineers: Explore symmetry, colour and structure.

5- Combinate everything: Join your models to create one collective sculpture that represents teamwork and creativity.

The students felt a shared sense of achievement through teamwork, and they improved their creativity and spatial reasoning skills. It was also a good opportunity for them to get to know each other better and to communicate in English with their classmates.
This activity encourages cooperation, spatial thinking, and creativity, while showing how digital fabrication can be used to design both artistic and structural shapes.