Spring 2026 — Tinkercad Term Overview (Tech Tinker Club)

Theme: Design, Make, Iterate
Duration: 10 weeks × 1.5 h
Audience: Mixed-ability Years 4–6 (single group)

Intent

  • Build confidence using Tinkercad to design purposeful 3D products.
  • Develop spatial reasoning, measurement skills and basic understanding of mechanisms.
  • Introduce simple ideas from parametric design (Codeblocks) and digital circuits.
  • Encourage persistence and iteration — improving designs over time rather than expecting perfection first time.

Implementation

  • Weekly 90-minute sessions across the Spring term.
  • Each week centres on a mini-project with a tangible outcome (e.g. tags, stands, spinners, badges).
  • Short whole-group demos followed by guided build time and independent making.
  • Selected designs prepared for printing, while others are celebrated digitally with screenshots and posters.

Week-by-Week Summary

  1. Welcome to 3D — Name tag/keyring; navigation, basic shapes and resizing.
  2. Align, Group, Holes — Stamp/cutter; simple Boolean modelling and alignment.
  3. Measure & Workplanes — Box & peg; ruler, units and tolerances.
  4. Mirror & Symmetry — Creature/rocket; mirrored parts and balance.
  5. Generators & Scribble — Badge/pendant; custom forms and parameters.
  6. Mechanisms — Spinner or wheel toy; axles, hubs, clearance and friction.
  7. Print Preparation — Nameplate/stand; wall thickness, supports and orientation.
  8. Codeblocks Patterns — Bracelet/tower; loops, parameters and transforms.
  9. Circuits — Blinking LED card (sim); breadboard layout, polarity and simulation.
  10. Capstone Showcase — Final print or best-of-term model plus simple presentation.

Impact

By the end of the term, most participants will:

  • Talk about their designs using correct terms (e.g. workplane, symmetry, tolerance, prototype).
  • Produce at least one model that could be safely printed and used or displayed.
  • Show a clear example of iteration — an updated version that improves on the original.
  • Recognise how Autumn’s Micro:bit work (logic, loops) connects to Spring’s Codeblocks and digital design.