Fifth grade art students have recently been creating virtual models of hot-air balloons with Sketch Up for Schools computer-aided design (CAD) software on Chromebooks. Students used shapes and lines to create a half-profile of a balloon and then spun it with the "follow me" tool to create the 3D form. Students arranged copies of their balloons so that a group appears to be flying. Students colored their balloons and the background space in individually expressive ways. The first steps in the construction of the balloons are shown below in a CAD design by Joey Burgess, whose final work also appears here.
The 3D print shown below is a model of the Yedikule Fortress, a 15th century Ottoman Empire structure in Istanbul, Turkey. The model was designed for a 6th grade social studies project by Liam Parker with Tinkercad computer-aided design software. Mr. Bell provided technical instruction.