Visualizing Evolution

AB
Alex Braden
May 9, 2025
Tech Coach Shanghai American School-Pudong

Our 10th Grade biology teachers wanted to add a new dimension to their unit on evolution and wondered if I had any ideas on how they could incorporate technology into the unit. After listening to what they wanted their students to learn, we decided to incorporate Flint to help with part of the project. Using their research on the causes and effects of evolution, they fed the information into Flint and after several iterations and Flint guiding and prompting for more detail, they generated an image of how they thought a prehistoric animal would have evolved. They then fed that image into an online service that turns 2D images into 3D images and a downloadable file. We then fed the file into the 3D printer and printed their evolved creatures. These were then put on a display called a Cladogram, along with an explanation of the process and evolutionary forces they tried to show. The teachers were super happy with how students engaged with Flint and how it forced them to use their learning at an elevated level.

The Flint generated image:

The 3D generated image:

The 3D printed creature:

The Cladogram:

The post discusses a creative educational project where 10th grade biology teachers integrated technology into their evolution unit by using Flint, an AI tool, to help students visualize evolutionary concepts. Students researched evolutionary causes and effects, used Flint to generate images of evolved prehistoric animals, converted these images into 3D models, and then printed them using a 3D printer. The project culminated in a display called a Cladogram, showcasing the creatures and the evolutionary process. The teachers were pleased with the students' engagement and the depth of learning achieved.