Civil War Ironclad Construction Kit

thingiverse

Build an American Civil War era ironclad warship then sail it into the battle. The design and construction of steam powered ironclad warships was in its infancy during the Civil War. Engineers tried modifying wooden ships, and building ironclads from scratch, with varying degrees of success. It was difficult to find the right balance between armor, firepower, and speed. In this project students can try their hand at designing an ironclad warship, 3D printing their vessel, then test it in battle. All the parts for building Civil War ironclads are included here and can be downloaded and assembled. But a much easier way to do this is to open the Civil War Ironclad Construction Kit on Tinkercad.com and assemble the parts there.https://tinkercad.com/things/0RVPhhX8Cew Several historic examples are included here and in the PDF directions. Ironclad models can be printed with or without bases. This project is based on one created by Peter Pellegrino for the JuniorGenral.org website. Peter's rules use paper ship models for the Battle of Mobile Bay (1864). The model forts are for anyone that wants to use Peter's original rules from the website.http://www.juniorgeneral.org/naval/mobile%20bay/mobile%20bay.html How I Designed This The easiest way for students to build their ships it to search for and open the file Civil War Ironclad Construction Kit on Tinkercad.com. All the parts are in that file and students just need to move them into the correct position and then delete the extra pieces to have a printable model. Models can be made with or without the base and name tag. Students will want to use the arrow keys to help them move parts into the correct position. They will not need to resize the pieces or lift them off the workplane. Pieces can be copied or duplicated as needed. The only rotating that might be needed is for the ends of the casement. Standards NGSS Overview and Background Build an American Civil War era ironclad warship then sail it into the battle. The design and construction of steam powered ironclad warships was in its infancy during the Civil War. Engineers tried modifying wooden ships, and building ironclads from scratch, with varying degrees of success. It was difficult to find the right balance between armor, firepower, and speed. In this project students can try their hand at designing an ironclad warship, 3D printing their vessel, then test it in battle. All the parts for building Civil War ironclads are included here and can be downloaded and assembled. But a much easier way to do this is to open the Civil War Ironclad Construction Kit on Tinkercad.com and assemble the parts there.https://tinkercad.com/things/0RVPhhX8Cew Several historic examples are included here and in the PDF directions. Ironclad models can be printed with or without bases. This project is based on one created by Peter Pellegrino for the JuniorGenral.org website. Peter's rules use paper ship models for the Battle of Mobile Bay (1864). The model forts are for anyone that wants to use Peter's original rules from the website.http://www.juniorgeneral.org/naval/mobile%20bay/mobile%20bay.html Lesson Plan and Activity Download the Designing an ironclad warship PDF file for full details on the project Use the rules to choose the characteristics of your warship Go to Tinkercad.com and find the Civil War Ironclad Construction Kit file and open it https://tinkercad.com/things/0RVPhhX8Cew Assemble the parts to make your warship, delete the extra parts Download and 3D print your warship or an entire fleet Set up a battlefield and use the rules in the PDF file to battle you friends Project: Civil War Ironclad Construction Kit Objective Students will design and print an American Civil War ironclad warship and test it in battle. Audience This project is intended for grades 6 - 8. Younger students can complete the project but will need an adult to help them with the rules during battle. Older students can run the battle portion on their own. Preparation Students should have a basic understanding of the American Civil War and would fit well near the end of a unit on that subject. The 3D design process using Tinkercad is relatively easy and would be a good project for beginners. Steps Download the Designing an ironclad warship PDF file for full details on the project Use the rules to choose the characteristics of your warship Go to Tinkercad.com and find the Civil War Ironclad Construction Kit file and open it https://tinkercad.com/things/0RVPhhX8Cew Assemble the parts to make your warship, delete the extra parts Download and 3D print your warship or an entire fleet Set up a battlefield and use the rules in the PDF file to battle you friends Results The rules have been playtested with students in grades 6 - 8 using paper models.