How many squares create a cube? This prompt sparks a variety of answers depending on the age. First graders usually answer four and often, we hear the number 12. With FabMaker (Fab@School) Studio, students can use shapes to digitally create 2D nets and with the 3D viewer tool immediately see how the finished project will fold. And this is just the beginning.

FabMaker Studio, our digital design and fabrication tool, opens the door to authentic learning and assessment. And as a web-based tool, FabMaker Studio can easily be folded into distance learning as they explore the Engineering Design Process. To encourage your students to think through their designs and document the process, we’ve created a handy project journal.

STEM content: Through FabMaker Studio, students can learn about constructing geometric shapes (activity here) and use the built-in measurement tools to engineer a scale model of a city or to exploring force and structure (go-cart activity).

Building first through technology then with actual materials is a hands-on way to gain skills in all the STEM fields.

Paper Prototyping: Prototyping is a valuable part of the creative process. Utilizing affordable and easily accessible materials, FabMaker Studio can help students make tangible objects to represent their ideas in order to test out their understanding. For details on how to use scissors to complete a project click here.

Spatial Reasoning: When designing in FabMaker Studio, students must think about how the final product they’re imagining would look when unfolded. Students have to envision where the paper must be cut and folded to create the end goal. Developing their spatial reasoning in this way is valuable for many applications and future careers.

FabMaker Tips: There are three lines in FabMaker Studio - perforated fold lines (green), cut lines (red), and black lines (don’t cut). For tips on how these lines function download our FabMaker Tool Tip sheet.

Design and Creativity: Students get to build objects starting with their imagination and then bringing them into reality. There are multiple possible ways to build the same object when you are talking about paper fabrication, so students’ design and creativity skills really get to shine. For ideas on how to get started with FabMaker Studio, check out these Spotlight Blogs and examples on the Reynolds Center site.

Perseverance and Resilience: Fabricating with just paper and tape/glue provides a low-stakes environment for taking risks and making mistakes. Students learn to try again and again and to think of mistakes as pieces of information to learn from. Perseverance and resilience are all part of the process.

Using FabMaker Studio with Distance Learning