The use of 3D printing of teaching models of medicinal plants as learning tools in teaching botany

Abstract

The ways of teaching and learning have advanced over the years. The use of 3D technologies is constantly growing. This technology can be applied in teaching through didactic models. At the same time as these technological and scientific advances occur, many may leave aside traditional knowledge and its respective importance, especially in the school environment. This work aims to show the 3D printing of teaching models of the main parts of Amazonian medicinal plants to be used as learning tools in teaching botany. Through bibliographical and field research, three well-known plants widely used medicinally in the Amazon region were chosen: Andiroba, Buriti, and Tucumã. Using 3D modeling programs, seeds and fruits, the materials most used in traditional medicine for these plants, were printed. The results focused on printing models depicting the anatomical structure of the species so that their medicinal importance could be highlighted through the structural visualization of their active principles so that their applications could be understood. The conclusion shows that didactic models can awaken interest in learning by enabling a visual and tactile experience of botanical structures that may not be part of students' lives, making it possible to rescue traditional knowledge with its medicinal application, for example, combined with scientific knowledge, regarding the morphology of the structures presented.