Spring 2026 — Tinkercad Term

Theme: “Design, Make, Iterate.”

This term, participants at Tech Tinker Club will use Tinkercad to design 3D models, explore mechanisms and test simple structures in SimLab. The focus is on thoughtful design: planning, making, testing and improving.

Intent (What we want to achieve)

• Build confidence using digital 3D tools to design purposeful products.
• Help children think like designers: Who is this for? What problem does it solve?
• Introduce simple ideas from mechanics and structures (motion, friction, stability).
• Encourage iteration: make → test (virtually) → improve → present.

Implementation (How we will do it)

• Weekly 90-minute sessions throughout the Spring term.
• Each week introduces a focus concept through a small, guided mini-project.
• Activities are tiered, so beginners can follow a clear path while confident learners extend and personalise.
• SimLab is used in the second half of term to test designs virtually before any real making.

Impact (How we’ll know it worked)

• Pupils can explain design choices using correct vocabulary (e.g. workplane, symmetry, stability, friction).
• Models broadly meet simple briefs and show at least one improvement after feedback or testing.
• Pupils can describe how testing in SimLab changed their design ideas.
• Selected models may be prepared for safe 3D printing or presented clearly as digital artefacts.

Week by Week Overview

Looking ahead

• Summer 2026: Integration term — combining micro:bit coding, 3D design and (later) simple circuits into small, purposeful projects.