Is Your Child Crazy…or Not???

Hi Parents!From time to time (or very often!), do you think that your child has some really crazy ideas?My son has some recurring conversation topics. The planet Mars is one of them. He would like to 3D print a new house for us using the dust and sand you can find on the surface of Mars or by crushing some rocks into powder. He even thinks to use some elements you could find in the waste bin like plastics or aluminum cans.I could have told him that his ideas are stupid or at least crazy. But before telling this kind of harsh words to my loved one, come with me a few minutes to check if he could be onto something.The D-ShapeOne guy is on his way to 3D printing on the moon: Enrico Dini. This really creative Italian man has invented the D-Shape, a 3D printer able to print big structures.3D Printing on the MoonThe ESA (European Spatial Agency) plans to use the D-Shape technology on the moon. They want to send an automated 3D printer that will print a lunar base before sending humans to live and work in it.3D Printing Stone-Like ObjectsAbove the beauty of being able to print several meters high or long objects, which is already great, the end result is a stone-like object. It is like sculpting without a hammer and a chisel. Enrico uses sand and a magnesium-based binder to get this amazing result.The First Ever 3D Printed Bridge is in Spain!The D-Shape technology was very recently used by the IAAC (Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, Spain) to print nothing else but the first ever 3D printed bridge!Can you believe it? A bridge! Ok, that one is “only” 12 m long and 1.75 m large. But it is a real pedestrian bridge installed in a park in the south of Madrid, Spain. They used a slightly different material (a concrete powder with a thermoplastic polypropylene binder) but the result is still a stone-like bridge. Amazing job!Is Your Child Crazy…or Not?As I very often say to my son:“The only limitation to what you can do is your own imagination.”If you can think it, you can create it (or somebody else will be able to create it for you). If you have a crazy idea, you can either work on it right away, or you will see it done by somebody else in the months or years to come.The speed of innovation is increasing exponentially. So, parents, I have a personal request for you:Please, never ever again tell your son or daughter that his or her idea is stupid or crazy. This “stupid” or “crazy” idea could lead her or him to revolutionize an entire industry.ENJOY YOUR CRAZY IDEAS TOGETHER!