MakerBot and ThinkFun announced today that Maker Studio Construction Sets are available for free at MakerBot Thingiverse, a 3D design community for discovering, making, and sharing 3D printable things. The Maker Studio Construction Sets on Thingiverse allow educators, children, and parents, to transform ordinary household items into engineering-inspired machines. The digital designs for the Maker Studio Construction Sets can be downloaded now for free from Thingiverse at thingiverse.com/thinkfun.
The 3D printable parts of the sets, including connectors, wheels, rods, hubcaps, spools, and hole punches, can be downloaded individually and used to transform household items, such as cereal boxes or soda cans, into kinetic machines. Instructions, assembly diagrams, and 10 open-ended challenges to build problem-solving skills can also be downloaded from Thingiverse.
ThinkFun and MakerBot today also launched the “Kids Make It Challenge” for children around the world to share their creations and compete for ThinkFun and MakerBot-branded prizes and for the title of Master Maker. To enter, kids or parents post a photo or video of their Maker Studio creation on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #KidsMakeIt. Official contest rules are on the #KidsMakeIt Challenge Page.