Make 3D Quilt Codes

Purpose & objective

Participants will learn about the legend of how a safe house along the Underground Railroad was often indicated by a quilt hanging from a clothesline or windowsill.

Participants will create four symbols using Google Drawings, to download images as PNG files.

Participants will design a three-dimensional quilt using personal symbols (as code), then import the symbols as SVG files into Tinkercad 3D Design to create 3D patterned quilts.

Outline

15 mins - Quilt Codes of the Underground Railroad
10 mins - Symbol Reflection Exercise in Jamboard
20 mins - Drawing Quilt Squares in Google Drawings
10 mins - Tinkercad Lesson
20 mins - Creating 3D Quilt with Tinkercad
10 mins - Sharing
5 mins - Reflection Space

Using Wakelet to present, presenters will guide participants to
* use shared link to join Wakelet to access all activities.
* annotate primary sources about the Underground Railroad and Quilt Codes.
* reflect on a Jamboard about symbols that represent their lives
* use Google Drawings to draw symbols chosen in Jamboard activity
* convert downloaded “png” files from Google Drawings to “svg” files
* Upload “svg” files to Tinkercad to create a 4x4 quilt to tell their story

Supporting research

The lesson was modified from the original lesson “3D Quilt Codes and the Tinkercad Cypher” created by Dr. Nettrice Gaskins (https://www.instructables.com/3D-Quilt-Codes-the-Tinkercad-Cypher/)
It is a framework rooted in STEAM, culturally response resources, and the design thinking process.

This lesson was supported by STAR, a Biogen Foundation Initiative. The Lesley Team includes faculty and staff in the Lesley STEAM Learning Lab, Science in Education, the Center for Mathematics Achievement, and other related Lesley University departments and programs.