Our expert, Chris, said, “The way in which the 3D printer works isn’t actually that complex. It creates objects through many layers of plastic. It has a roll of plastic at the back, a tube in which the plastic travels to the beak which is heated up to 220 degrees, which then squirts out tiny drops of plastic in layers. Our 3D printer is precise to the size of human hair, there are some which are precise to the 1/5th of the human hair and can print out thousands of colours; however their cost is about £17 000.”

Following this, small groups of students got the chance to see the 3D printer Chris had brought with him in action. They learnt about how they were already improving peoples lives through 3D printing medical equipment such as heart or jaw models. They also discovered ideas about how it will be important in the future – perhaps even 3D printing full scale buildings!

Meanwhile, students were set the challenge of redesigning the High Street of the future. “You’re the designer. Let your imagination run wild!”

Students of Oxford Spires Academy put a lot of thought into their future High Street. Surprisingly many  said they love the current “good, old High Street”; deciding that Oxford wouldn’t be Oxford without “the buildings from sandstone”.One of the students said he loved the old aesthetics of the High Street, which reminds him of the past. In many designs, students left older buildings as a tribute to the old city, but made buildings around them modern.

When asked about ways of improving High Street answers included “more green spots, streets under ground so the cars wouldn’t make that much noise, solar panels to reduce the costs for many shops and some more facilities for leisure and entertainment.”

The majority of the students said that everything was interesting about the project so far, but if they were to pick one thing that appealed most, it would definitely have to be the 3D printer.

The session concluded with students proud with their own work, and surprised at the creativity of their peers. They were very colourful and creative, with the uses of a range of materials.

In pairs we had to touch our partners finger tip. It was easy with both eyes open, but with one covered it was difficult – this is because you need both eyes to see depth.

This lead on to a discussion about how Turner had played around with the perspective of the High Street.

We were also able to look at motion capture technology to see how taking pictures of the same building from different angles can build up a 3D image.

We then experimented with 3 activities:

1. 123d Catch

This app allows you to take 40-70 photos and it renders it together so you are able to move around an object similar to the motion capture technology. We did this bit in an open area of the gallery, to create our own 3D art sculptures.

2.  Tracing the High Street

For this activity we went to the gallery to see Turner’s work. We were given a smaller picture of the High St, tracing paper and a ruler to draw orthogonal lines. We could see that Turner had moved buildings meaning there was no consistent line of depth and no central vanishing point.

3. 3D view of the High Street

Using a programme on Chris’ laptop we were able to outline all the elements of a shop on the High Street and add depth, width and height to create a 3D model which can later be used to print a model.

To conclude the session we looked at 3D scans and how they can be used to produce / print toys, parts, miniature buildings. More about this soon.

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We split into two groups and walked up each side of the Street, looking at the architecture and how it developed the image of Oxford over the last 206 years. We documented this through photography, and as a group discussed how Turner had manipulated the composition to fit his idea of the High Street and the methods he used, in order to include as much of Oxford’s High Street as possible. While looking at the High Street from what we assumed would have been the area he would have painted it from we could see that in reality the view did not fit, due to the High Street curving as it got further up the road. Also, we noticed we could not see Carfax Tower, even though Turner had painted it in the background of his work.

After this we were lucky enough to be given a tour of Queen’s College, where we were shown around by two second year students who took us around the grounds. We were able to see the library but due to the upcoming exam season we were asked to be very quiet. However, this didn’t stop us from admiring the amazing ceilings and art it had to offer. We were then taken through the courtyard and across to the Common Rooms where the students are able to relax or do work as they please. We were also given the opportunity to visit the dining hall (which had been graced by the presence of celebrities like Rowan Atkinson) and according to our guides “serves some of the best food in Oxford, and at a good price”

This amazing experience gave us the opportunity to view the amazing grounds and find out a small part of the history of the College. These experiences our students will carry through to the next session where they will be looking at creating their own architecture, building models of their new streetscape.

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