Students at the University of South Florida can take a Digital Dinosaurs class, teaching them about both 3D technology and the past.

3D printed dinosaurs sounds just like the title of a cheesy TV movie. But at the University of South Florida, the fusion of 3D printing and prehistoric times is an inspiration. Here, students are learning about the past while using brand new technologies.

The class — called Digital Dinosaurs — was devised by professor Dr Ryan Carney. He uses 3D technologies to teach students about fossils and dinosaurs. Through 3D technologies and virtual reality, students can learn both about the past and the digital technologies of the future.

As well as this, students are getting hands-on with 3D printing. Carney gave them the chance to create a project using a 3D printer. Students would then upload their projects to the internet where anyone can benefit from them.

“Digital dinosaurs provides a comprehensive exploration, including some hands-on training of the digital tools used in paleontology… So while the subject matter focuses on dinosaurs, the goal of the class is really to provide digital skills to these students so they can become innovators in the 21st-century workforce.”

3D Printing Life-Like Digital Dinosaurs

Every aspect of the prehistoric past, from small fossils to fully-fledged dinosaurs, is brought to life with 3D. Carney continues: “I’ve been working on this project for over a decade and so to be able to see it in immersive 3D is just amazing.”

However, Carney is no ordinary professor and was even recognized as an “Emerging Explorer” by the National Geographic. He explains: “They have been really key in their support as far as this research.”

His exploration into the past is certainly very creative.But Carney doesn’t want to stop at educating just his students with the Digital Dinosaurs class. He also hopes his research will be used to educate others across the globe too.

When explaining the 3D printed projects, he adds: “By scanning them, by putting them online, anyone around the world can study them, can print them out, so we can get a better understanding of the past.”

Carney is a pioneer in using 3D printing to effectively and creatively teaching students about the past. However, hopefully it won’t be long before every classroom incorporates 3D printing to help learn in a creative way.

Source: Fox 13 News