Since this technology is new, I find many educators(with their plates already full) that are skeptical of the 3D printers value in the classroom with the time it takes to print objects. For myself, I placed academics second to inspiration where I enticed students with what a printer could do "for them"(i.e. trinkets, toys, nameplates, models of the Eiffel Tower). For a unit on scale and ratio, 3D modelling is great. I envision demonstrating to students the wonder of 3D printing by showing them a number of models I've previously created. Some of them being architectural or monuments around the world. As they ooh and ahh over them, we'll begin to talk about scale and how I achieved creating these models by scaling them down a certain percentage of their actual size. After some more examples of scaling and demonstrating the math involved in scaling, students will have the opportunity to research a certain piece of notable architecture or a monument around the world. They will then learn to scale these models down to a certain size, let's say 12 in. tall. These types of lessons would continually give students hands-on experience in scaling models to suitable sizes for various projects.