We created an African Elephant Mama & babies!

We think this elephant family is quite cute! The elephants all have easy to remove custom support material included in the STL files so you don't have to worry about support material. Other features of this design are push fit wheels on the feet of the elephants so they can be easily pushed around. Also, the baby elephants' trunks hook on the tails of the bigger elephants in order to create a 'chain'. The tusks and tails are friction fit so no glue is required in assembling the components.

We used an Ultimaker 2+ 3D printer and the models in the photos are printed with 0.6 mm nozzle (you can also use a 0.4mm).

LEARNING OBJECTIVES FOR CHILDREN

-We added some real-life details which could lead to interesting conversations about elephants! For example: how elephants use their tusks or what is the difference between an African and an Asian Elephant.

-An other learning objective could be maths. You can create interesting activities focused on sizes; small, medium, large. For example: Put the elephants in order from small to large or pick the larger/smaller elephant. (You can adjust the activity according to the age of the child)

-Free play! Through creative/imaginary play children develop their imagination which promotes social and emotional development.