STUDENT WORK

All Projects

Circuits

Using a Fandom wiki page for artistic inspiration, a middle-school student recreates the Gem Rejuvenator, a magical weapon from a favorite movie called Steven Universe.

The picture on the left shows a student hand holding a paper circuit. There is a rectangle of copper tape with a strip of tape across the middle. In the middle of the top and center lines are single lit LEDs. The picture on the right shows a red card. The card reads Mom. The picture on the left shows a green card. The card reads Dad.

Creating light up drawings and cards is an approachable, fun, and creative way to apply paper circuit making skills. A sketch was drawn, a simple circuit was designed and tested, and voila, a holiday card springs to life.

Once makers get the hang of making a simple circuit with 1 LED, they often want to experiment with figuring out how to get multiple LEDs to light up. And once they do, a door opens for making more elaborate creations.

A 2-light card celebrating Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead).

Using a Fandom wiki page for artistic inspiration, a middle-school student recreates the Gem Rejuvenator, a magical weapon from a favorite movie called Steven Universe.

There are two pictures. The picture on the left shows a a piece of construction paper folded in half, sitting on top of a piece of cardboard. The folded paper is colored black, with hand-written letters in different colors spelling Let the Crystals Glow. A green LED light is illuminated. The cardboard platform is decorated with construction paper and colorful beads. The picture on the right shows the inside of the paper cave and is filled with colored beads and buttons.

A final project from the world-building curriculum, LEDs light the sign that draw us in to the fantastical world of a cave filled glowing crystals.

A paper bonfire made out of rolled brown paper for the base and red, yellow, and orange paper crinkled paper at the top. An illuminated LED is tucked in between the colored paper.

Made by a teacher during a World-building curriculum training, a paper circuit with a yellow LED was integrated into a bonfire that sat on the beach of an ideal “day off” world.

3D Printing

A red clay cylinder with a hole down the middle is shown next to it’s 3D replica made from melted glue.

Making a layered Play-Doh creation, and then trying to recreate it out of hot glue, is more challenging than one would think. The goal of this kinesthetic activity, regardless of the degree of “success” of the glue version, is to help students internalize the concept that 3D objects are replicated by a printer by layering melted filament in the code that comes from a digital design.

A T-rex made out of hot glue. Who would have thought? Students allow each layer to dry a bit before applying the next one.

Students hold a small 3D truss bridge made out of melted glue.

The base and the 2 sides of this complex hot glue layering project were made individually and then assembled.

Not sure where to start? Go back to the basics and imagine the individual shapes that make up a figure or object. The maker found success by doing just that and discovering along the way that a figure’s leg can attach to a body by connecting the feet.

A computer screen shows the 3D design for a block-like human figurine with a blue circle for the head, red rectangles for the body, arms and legs, and purple ovals for feet and ears. Beside it, a small 3D printed version of the human-like figure lays on a table.

Design once, print twice. And who says you need to change filament? Paint goes a long way and simplifies the production process.

A computer screen shows the 3D design for a small brown bird with an open beak. A white and a yellow cone shape are beside it. On the right is a photo of 2 3D printed replicas of the bird, one white and one painted yellow, sitting on a table.

3D design and printing gives makers a way to create that new object for themselves or others. Sometimes you just need a fidget spinner!

On the right is a computer screen shows the 3D design for a hand-held marble maze. Some program menu options are shown. On the left it is a white 3D printed version of the maze.

To design a marble maze, this maker had to design for positive and negative space, for scale, and consider the most practical of details as they designed the digital file, like How big should a handheld game be? How big should the marble be? How high should the perimeter wall be to “contain” the marble? How wide do the paths need to be for a marble to move?

A white 3D printed replica of the Toronto skyline including the Canadian National Tower.

This maker was so inspired and motivated by their experiences at their school maker club that they began 3-D printing at home! The possibilities for fabricating the things AND places one loves are endless, including the unmistakable CN Tower of the Toronto skyline.

Cardboard

What makes some pieces of cardboard stronger than other pieces? Notice the fluting, those wavy middle layers (fluting) between the flat pieces of cardboard (linerboard). The size and strength of the fluting reinforces the material’s overall strength. And the more layers of cardboard, the strong the object!

A hand drawn illustration of Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. The illustration includes red, blue, yellow, and gray. The picture on the right shows a replica of the castle made from layers of cardboard with two towers in relief. The replica is colored to match the drawing.

This maker’s love of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in Disneyland was the context for employing newly acquired cardboard cutting skills. And the maker’s use of layering and including both flat and round pieces creates beautiful dimension that makes this piece stand out.

A cardboard skyscraper in the shape of a cylinder. Circular cardboard figures are attached to the sides. Masking tape holds the cylinders together.

Skyscraper anyone? The scored base of this structure was a starting point for this maker’s vision. Adding circular counterbalances on opposite sides of the structure was a way to continue experimenting and iterating on an architectural idea.

A mini cardboard grill made from scored pieces cardboard, taped together with masking tape. The grill is exposed and shows a hot dog made from red playdough and a burger made from cream-colored playdough.

A “monster barbecue”, complete with items on the grill, was built to feed the scores of visitors that came to a magical zoo world.

This beautiful peacock, made simply by scoring a semi-circle of cardboard and gluing it against the outline of the bird, impressed us all. Seeing this creature reminded us that scoring can be used to create gentle, subtle curves.

Clay

A small clay figurine exudes personality by virtue of the maker’s choices. Green clay, an atypically shaped base, and visible lines between segments result in a whimsical, potbellied snowman-like character.

Four small clay Angry Bird figurines. Two are red, one is yellow, and three smaller blue ones are stacked on top of each other.

The classic version of those wingless Angry Birds made a comeback as this maker’s attention to detail brought them “flinging” back to life.

A yellow "birdion" figure made out of yellow and brown clay. There are multi-colored clay feathers at the torso and a red and a yellow feather for wings tucked behind the figure. It sits on the left side of an open journal page with a student’s sketch of the figure on the right.

A fantastical birdion sketch gets reinterpreted as a 3D clay object.

The photo on the right shows a small clay octopus wearing a hat and sits next to a clay sombrero. The picture on the right shows an abstract clay figure with spirals and spikes.

Using multiple clay manipulation techniques–rolling, pressing, coiling–yields a wide range of shapes and objects. What world might the waving character on the left live? Perhaps in place that includes the fantastical cactus on the right.

A cardboard boat held together with masking tape. A narrow wooden dowel is in the center and a clay person wearing an orange vest and purple shorts stands beside it.

Once the sailboat was complete, it clearly needed a passenger! While clay is still moist and flexible, called the plastic state, students can have fun and go BIG, making large pieces for their worlds.

Student Journals

The picture on the left shows a handmade journal with a blue cover. The cover is decorated with multi-colored stickers and tape. Two tabs are wrapped from the front to the back of the journal and are labeled “Lock”. There is a “Do Not Open” sign sitting above the journal. The picture on the right shows a second handmade journal with a pink cover. Written on the cover are the words, “Makers Club!”. There are three line drawings of faces with googly eyes. There are 5 clusters of googly eyes under clear mounds of dried glue.

Googly eyes trapped under dried glue puddles. Security locks and warnings. What details would you include on your hand-bound journal to make it quintessentially you?

The inside of a student’s white paper journal is shown in which multiple iterations of the same rectangular figure sketch are shown.The 3D replica of this sketch is shown made out of wooden figures. Next to it, another inside of a student's white paper journal is shown. This sketch includes a few sentences, a few eggs and a sketched out dragon blowing fire.

A space to reflect on what what challenging or what could be improved upon and a place to sketch and plan. The journals give every maker a place of their own.

The inside of a student’s white paper journal is shown where there are multiple ideas for different puzzles and shapes to make. Some ideas are of a Rubik's Cube, a quarter note and a maze with three balls.

Student journal with ideas for puzzles and other shapes.

The inside of a student’s white paper journal is shown where they have sketched out an idea for a game. The sketch includes a playing board and different dinosaur playing pieces. Next to it, the dinosaur playing pieces are shown designed within the 3D program Tinkercad.

Have an idea for a game? The journals are great place to start getting ideas down on paper, noting the colors and materials to make it happen. Wondering what materials this maker was planning on using for those dinosaur playing pieces? You guessed it…playing pieces were designed in Tinkercad and printed!

Motors

On the left is a picture of a student’s hand holds a vertical contraption made from 2 popsicle sticks, a battery and a motor. A propellor spins at the top. On the right is spinning windmill made from a paper cult and popsicle sticks.

How can you NOT make propellers once you know how to make the shaft on a servo motor rotate?

A rectangular cardboard house sits horizontally on the floor. A wind turbine made from paper and clothes pins sits on the top. A battery is attached to the wires that come from the motor in the center of the wind turbine.

This teacher maker integrated multiple circuits in this wind-powered home. Aside from the light that goes on over the door with a “push” of the button, notice the coin cell battery hanging behind the clothespin. It’s attached with tape to a small servo motor whose rotating shaft spins the blades of the turbine.

Students build creatures out of everyday materials and attach the battery and motor to it. What do you then get when you take a piece of a hot glue stick and attach it, off center, to the stem of the motor. A vibrabot! When the motor turns on and the stem rotates with an off center weight, the object wobbles and vibrates.

Paper

Paper is a fantastic making material because it is familiar, is not hard to come by, and can be endlessly manipulated with or without tools or having specific paper craft skills.

A bird made out of a piece of crumpled white paper.

Another example of a 3D object that came as a result of the 1-sheet of paper activity, makers develop their understanding of what 3D objects are, figuring out through experimentation and conversation that 3D objects have length, width, and height.

Two playground slides constructed from folded paper. Each has a piece of colored construction paper as a base.

Two playground slide forms constructed from folded paper.

A miniature replica of a classroom. The walls are made out of cardboard, the tables are made out of a purple and a blue piece of paper. There are yellow and orange paper chairs, two paper projectors, three white boards, and two paper people at the front of the room.

Makers took the Build a Paper Classroom activity from the World-building Curriculum, Activity 1, Part 2, to the next level!

Go inside this paper classroom (click play and you’ll see what we mean) and check out the attention paid to even the smallest entails of the room.

A tower with a square base made out of yellow, blue, orange and green foam blocks. Ripped blue and purple pieces of paper are attached along the sides.

Kindergartners explored building with 3D shapes, adding paper to foam blocks.

Final Projects

A student’s final project is presented on a black poster board with neon green paper labels. On the left side of the board, there is a 3D printed score of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star with prototype versions and the perfected 3D musical notes. On the right side there are samples of other completed projects such as a 3D eraser, a circuit board, journal and a vibrating motor.

A student shares many objects from their making experience, prominently featuring the 3-D printed score of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, with annotated prototypes to the left. Learning is understood as an iterative process, with each attempt at executing a new skill a critical step towards one’s vision coming to fruition.

A cardboard cityscape. The buildings include hand-drawn windows. A red car is drawn on a cardboard prism. A red person is drawn on a cardboard prism near the buildings. A cardboard background shows a blue sky with white clouds and yellow sun. There is a paper light up sign with a blue background, white clouds, a yellow sun, green grass, and small buildings. The sign says Newtopia.

Learning how to score cardboard is a game changer for many. Not only can one make prisms of all sizes, but curving cardboard becomes an option too, allowing makers to shape a rigid material in a new way. And oh, that light up sign is pretty fabulous too! Increasing one’s materials literacy, understanding how materials and tools work, allows makers to create more complex pieces.

Final project showing several artifacts, including a handmade journal, a light-up card with a dragon whose fire-breathing capacity is fueled by an LED, a cardboard construction of a cheese wheel house, and a drawn and 3D printed versions of the cheese wheel itself. In the foreground is a recycled-materials vibrabot, a bot whose movement comes from the shaking generated by an off-center weight (the hot glue stick) as it spins with the rotating motor shaft. Sewing, cardboard cutting, circuit making, and 3D printing

This are all representedfinal project display shows several artifacts, including a handmade journal, a light-up card with a dragon whose fire-breathing capacity is fueled by an LED, a cardboard construction of a cheese wheel house, and a drawn and 3D printed versions of the cheese wheel itself. In the foreground is a recycled-materials vibrabot, a bot whose movement comes from the shaking generated by an off-center weight (the hot glue stick) as it spins with the rotating motor shaft. Sewing, cardboard cutting, circuit making, and 3D printing through the personally meaningful creations.

Three laminated pages of thumbnails of memes sits beside a long piece of cardboard with yellow stickies arranged in an array. A word or phrase is written on each sticky.

Making is a avenue for exploring and sharing one’s passions. This maker’s extensive knowledge of pop culture and memes became a bingo game, requiring special attention be paid to ensuring the right balance between the same and unique memes on each playing card. For many, succeeding in this game proved to be a real challenge!

A birdseye view of 8 mini golf challenges, each on it’s own cardboard base. Each challenge includes foam pieces and straws.

Tee up! One maker’s love of golf translated into an 10-hole mini course. Integrating cardboard cutting and hot glue gun skills, as well as iterating through the Engineering Design Cycle multiple times for each golfing challenge, this maker delved deeply into a passion, inviting others to discover and play.

Final Student project: K-Pop party is brought to the fore, complete with 3-D printed dancers and banner, festooned decorations, a potionz (spelling as designed!) table, and characters made from plastic cubs and craft materials.

K-Pop is brought to the fore, complete with 3-D printed dancers and banner, festooned decorations, a potionz (spelling as designed!) table, and characters made from plastic cups and craft materials.

A student’s final project of a mermaid world. A mermaid made of playdough and pipe cleaners sits by a body of water made from beads, clay paper, and stickers.The cardboard base includes a styrofoam castle. The cardboard background is covered in a light blue sheet of paper and a white piece of paper cut out to look like waves is mounted on top. A small sea creature is glued beside the waves.

This maker relied on common craft materials, ones that many learning spaces have on hand, to make a hybrid land/water mermaid world come to fruition, complete with a treasure-holding clam and pegasus. The fine motor skills required to manipulate clay, cut foam and paper, glue beads, twist pipe cleaners, and place stickers are as significant a learning and practice opportunity as is being able to take an idea in one’s mind and then make it to share with others.

IDEAS curricula serve as guides to making activities; if you’re comfortable, riff on the activities or invent new ones! One teacher challenged makers to recreate an object out of different materials. Students develop their materials fluency as they create with air dry clay, CAD software and printing filament, or pipe cleaners. Each has their own affordances and constraints, which students discover each time they create a new version.