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Preliminary findings demonstrate increased social engagement and learning in older adults through a 3D printing workshop, implying positive potential for technology use.
While there is some research regarding 3D printing forolder adults, research aboutthem using this technology themselves is scarce. However,this age group could benefit from learning the technology:not only from the printed objects, but from the digitalskills and social engagement that come with theprocess.This paper presents preliminary findings from aneightweek 3D printing workshop with older adults.Participants were motivated by curiosity about thetechnology, the desire to transform ideas to tangibleprojects, and the social dimension, both within theworkshop group and beyond it. Their learning behaviorslargely mirrored patternsdescribed in the broader literature on older adults andtechnology. Future work will examine the group’s continuedappropriation of 3D printing as well as their transitionfrom learners to peer instructors.
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Dunkel et al. (2026) studied this question.
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