I get to teach a course called Medical Detectives, a portion of which focuses on the secrets of the nervous system.

As a part of this exploration, students utilize their 3d drafting skills to create a model of a neuron, labeling the key parts.

I find modeling with Tinkercad to be a unique opportunity for students to APPLY their CAD drafting skills. We don't typically print these, but experiencing and sharing their models in 3 dimensions is a uniquely engaging experience. In a subsequent lesson, students animate their models to show how a nerve impulse travels from the dendrites, along the axon to the axon terminus, transmitting to the next neuron using neurotransmitters. Click here if you would like to make a copy of this document for your own use.