Massachusetts
Rich has broken educational ground. In 2013, his class was one of the first school groups to create a functional, 3D-printed prosthetic limb for a child, Rich’s 3-year old son Max. After gaining worldwide notoriety, the class successfully expanded this project beyond their school with Rich’s “D-Zign Kidz” initiative, which invites 6th graders to work with senior citizens in the community to diagnose design problems. As part of their work, they prototype solutions using Play-Doh before creating 3D design iterations. “This project has absolutely lit a spark of authenticity in our students,” Rich says. “In our 3D Design Problem Bank, people from our school community post problems in need of a designed solution, and our students become inventors and engineers who create actual solutions to real-life problems.”
Fun Fact: Rich is an international educator, having taught in both Canada and South America. He now teaches at the Brookwood School in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts.
Follow Rich on Twitter, @RichLehrer1.