The potential of 3D printing technologies is astonishing. Medicine, design tools, and productions processes will be revolutionized by 3D printing. For instance, bioprinting will be the keystone of medicine in the future. The idea of fabricating living tissue to produce human organs or cure diseases will transform the boundaries of medicine. Moreover, organic design which is a method to bring concepts to physical reality, will allow the recreation of artificial limbs, cartilages and living tissues through the use of complex algorithms. Furthermore, design tools will become more intuitive. It means that design tools will have a friendly interface in which human and computer will brainstorm ideas together. But most compelling is the idea of reactive blue prints in which the computer will be able to create shapes that can adapt easily to environmental conditions.

However, the area that captures my attention more than any other is education. The impact of 3D printing in future generations depends on how well our children are educated. I was aware of that after attending to the maker faire. Observing children involvement in the maker fair was fantastic, they were ambitious to create by themselves whatever their imagination dictates. So why not to think in an integral education system in which children get involved with 3D printing technologies at early stages. The immense potential that 3D printing has in education is not only about encourage creativity among children but also to prepare them to be social responsible from their own creations. We do not need sky rocket science to understand that if our children are educated with integrity today, a better future will come tomorrow.

Furthermore, I believe that education in early stages will help to solve the problems entailed to 3D printing. For instance the wrong use of this technology is a huge concern. What if 3D printing technologies are in the inappropriate hands? Let’s say terrorist, black market dealers, or any unscrupulous doctors that use this technology only for business purposes. Moreover, the lack of regulations that we have today over 3D printing technologies, still requires a profound attention in order to avoid the inappropriate use of this technology in the future. Additionally, green manufacturing is still a challenge that 3Dprinting technologies have to solve because the use of plastic, as the main raw material endangers the nature. In short, all this problems described above can be alleviated by the appropriate education of our children.