It has a very simple child friendly interface that pupils are familiar with which eliminates a large part of the 3D modelling learning curve for very young children. Purple Mash is used in many Primary and Early Years settings across the UK and internationally. We have recently been excited to learn that Purple Mash, a popular software suite from 2Simple, now has the ability to design and export models as 3D printable. You can learn more about this project, the design process, challenges and outcomes in our Dens Road Case Study. They managed to design and make their own playground equipment models in TinkerCAD. It is possible however, with time and support, that even the very young can achieve success, as the pre-school children at Dens Road Nursery proved. Following this, significant ongoing support may be required for very young children as they have often not developed the fine motor skills required to manipulate the software in order to realise their ideas, this can lead to a lot of frustration in the pupils.

However even these simpler programs and apps, dedicated time is required to familiarise pupils with the interface. Software and apps that the CREATE Education team have become aware of that may be worth exploring with younger children includes:

However the 3D software industry is starting to respond and more and more solutions are becoming available that younger children can access. One of the barriers to introducing 3D printing to very young children is that 3D modelling software can be too difficult for them to master.

Easy to use 3d design software free