3D Printable Quark Puzzle: A Model to Build Your Own Particle Systems

There is an increasing emphasis on fundamental particles, including quarks, in the high school physics classroom. However, many teachers might not feel comfortable teaching particle physics because it is a highly abstract and complex topic, and there are few hands-on activities to help teachers bring it into the classroom. In 2010, Gettrust presented a two-dimensional quark puzzle, a physical manipulative that allowed students to discover the rules of the Standard Model of particle physics through inquiry. In the paper Gettrust states: “An ideal set of pieces representing quarks would consist of three-dimensional objects that fit nicely together into some basic shape, such as a sphere or some platonic solid, but only for quark combinations allowed by Standard Model rules.” Here we report on our development of such a set of 3D manipulatives.