19
New 3D printers or 3D pens are 21st century tools that have become must-have additions to any classroom, and the possibilities for educational use are endless. Whether you’re a STEM teacher with an engineering curriculum or an ELA teacher looking to enhance a literature unit, there’s a 3D printer project for your students. Inspire, engage, and challenge your middle school students with unique project ideas that take creativity from idea to reality.
1. Create cool keychain projects
One of the many advantages of 3D printing is that every project is customizable. Show students that the only limit to their 3D projects is their imagination (and maybe your filament supply) with an engaging key chain project.
Students can create their own designs, which can include:
- Names of students
- School name or logo
- Favorite sports team logos
- The name of your state or province
- Symbols representing a unit of study
Ask the class to make their own creations or vote for the most popular option that everyone can make. Then print and stick in their backpacks for class friendship!
Keychain 3D Printing Project for Middle School STEM and Middle School Technology
With STEM Central
Grades: 6th-8th
Subjects: Computer Science-Technology, Engineering
This complete 3D printing kit comes with detailed teacher notes, usage suggestions, student project packets in multiple formats, and a 3D printing project completion certificate. It’s a great way to start or end the school year!
2. Print a personalized planter
Looking for class projects for middle school engineering classes that use 3D printing? Look no further than the 3D Planting Project, which combines engineering and biology and encourages students to research innovative plant design. Based on what they learn, they draw and print their own containers, which they can use to house the budding flowers.
Tie this project into your earth science or ecology unit with a follow-up observation and reflection on plant design. How well does the water flow? Which group or individual plants thrive, given the same conditions and different planting designs?
3D Printing Project Makerspace Activities 3D Printing Method for Presentation Slides
She is Miss Tech Queen STEM
Grades: 3-6
Subject: Engineering
Levels: NGSS K-2-ETS1-1, 1-2; 3-5-ETS1-1, 1-2
This NGSS-aligned STEM resource includes everything you need to teach middle school students to print their own dishes. Two Google Forms track student progress, while an introductory slideshow, vocabulary test, and detailed teacher’s guide show people the basics of designing and printing a planter that will keep their plants alive.
3. Bring student art projects to life
If you are a STEM teacher who would like to become a STEAM teacher, try 3D printer projects that allow students to turn their small craft projects into models or new media. Using pens or 3D printers, middle school students can recreate their drawings, paintings, or other designs in new and innovative ways.
Take this project forward by encouraging young artists to incorporate 3D printing into their art. Whether they are designing a multimedia-based project, printing aspects of a stop-motion film, or taking drawn characters from a page and putting them into a printer, 3D printing is an excellent platform for art to take on a new life.
Introduction to 3D printing – STEAM PROJECT – GRADES 3-6 – Distance learning
Written by Simon Says School
Grades: 3-6
Subjects: Engineering, robotics
Standards: CCSS RI.3.7, 10; RI.4.9, 10; RI.5.7, 9, 10; RI.6.10; W.3.7, 8, 10; W.4.2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; W.5.2, 7, 8, 9, 9b, 10; W.6.2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10; SL.3.4, 6; SL.4.4, 5, 6; SL.5.4, 5, 6; SL.6.4, 5, 6; CCRA.R.7; W.2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10; SL.2, 4, 5, 6; L.1, 2; WHST.6-8.2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10; NGSS MS-ETS1-2, 3-5-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-2
Aligned with the CCSS and NGSS standards, this 3D printing tool is an excellent introduction to STEM concepts and the process of engineering and design. It includes detailed teacher’s guides, research graphic organizers, examples of student printed work, and self-assessments for students to reflect on what they have learned in the program.
4. Fashion fidget toys and spinners
When it comes to cool 3D printer projects, there’s nothing cooler than a fidget toy that students can use all day! These activities allow students to design a device that will actually help them or others focus, channel sensory needs, or use SEL skills to calm down during times of stress.
Popular printable fidget toys for middle schoolers include:
- Spinning tops
- Connected blocks (infinite cubes)
- Lock gears together
- Fidget spinners
- Twisted or stitched rings
- Clickable fidget toys
Especially smart readers can add to this list with their ideas. Consider expanding the project into an economic unit and see if students can sell their designs to peers or at a holiday fair.
5. Build a better bubble wand
If middle schoolers think bubbles are too old, they haven’t seen this 3D pen project! Students design bubble wands in any closed shape they like using CAD software or another design program, then use a 3D pen or printer to create the wand they want.
This middle school STEM activity would work well as an introduction to 3D pens or when teaching students about CAD. Have students celebrate their creations with a bubbly afternoon out of the classroom when everyone is done!
6. Name the animals and insects mentioned
With 3D printers and CAD software, it’s easy to create talking animals that connect together with small assembled pieces — and move like their real-life counterparts! These activities are a great way to combine the animal biology unit with engineering skills, as different groups of students can create animals that can live together in the same ecosystem.
Take it one step further by having students design their own animals to print and build. From dragons to unicorns to anything in their imagination, a 3D printer can bring their wildest ideas to life!
7. Create a maze that amazes middle school students
Keep the cool 3D printer projects coming with a printable maze that middle schoolers designed themselves. As good as a math assignment, connecting with Greek mythology and the labyrinth, or any other “fantasy” application, this project encourages students to use logic and engineering in one assignment.
Find the design that works best for your classroom and available materials. Mazes that use rolling balls will likely need to be sealed with acrylic, resin, or another transparent material, while open mazes may be more flexible and require fewer materials. More advanced students can use this opportunity to create a puzzle box or cryptex.
8. Use the 3D pen to develop the diorama
How can social studies students show the use of pottery in Aboriginal culture, or show what a medieval castle used to look like before the war? Diorama printables can be a great 3D pen project for ELA or social studies, combining these humanities subjects with basic STEM skills.
Creative students may find new opportunities to use 3D pens in their dioramas and visual displays. From creating 3D characters, historical inventions, or loom art, to bringing characters from a short story to life, 3D pens are an excellent interdisciplinary tool for middle school students.
9. Make molecules lock together
Impress the judges with a middle school science project that shows the structure of cells on a very large scale — all while demonstrating engineering skills with a 3D project! Encourage students to research the molecules they learned about in class and have them use CAD software to design the structure of the molecule itself. They can then print individual elements and connect them to show its molecular structure.
Possible molecules that students can choose include:
- Water (H2O)
- Methane (CH4)
- Caffeine (C8H10N4O2)
- Isopropyl alcohol (C3H7OH)
- Glucose (C6H12O6)
More advanced students can also try to model DNA in class. Consider making a group DNA double helix in an advanced class, with each student contributing their own printables.
Tips for Using a 3D Printer in the Classroom
Don’t hit “Print” yet! If you’re ready to start planning and facilitating 3D printer projects in the classroom, consider these tips and tricks of the trade to ensure success in your course.
- Master the printer yourself first. Your middle school students may be tech-savvy, but you should know what all the error messages mean before you start teaching about a 3D printer.
- Learn the basics of 3D printer challenges. Before starting a big project, ask students to complete a series of small challenges, so they know the basics.
- Keep the designs small. Middle schoolers have big ideas, but small projects make time and material balance easier to manage in large classrooms.
- Choose the best print time for your needs. Teachers who are new to 3D printing may want to print student projects as they teach throughout the day, while experienced teachers may feel more comfortable letting the printer run after school while they’re gone.
- Make sure there is enough filament. There’s nothing worse than running out of supplies for any project, especially when everyone is waiting for their turn to use the printer.
Create an engineering challenge with 3D printing projects
Get middle schoolers familiar with how your 3D printer works with resources that focus on the basics of 3D printing. With small project instructions that build on each other, these activities are a great way to build expertise and confidence before starting a larger project.
3D STEM Print Designs Cards – 32 Cards!
Written by EduTechie Teacher
Grades: 4th-10th
Subjects: Computer Science-Technology, Instructional Technology, Library Skills
If you have a 3D printer system and are short on project ideas, this resource is exactly what you are looking for! Get inspired by 32 design idea cards that make great starting points for 3D printer projects, or use the cards as a challenge to increase STEM skills in a team building activity.
Do it 3D printer projects work on your curriculum
3D printing allows students’ imagination and skills to come together in a tangible way. With a variety of middle school 3D printing lessons and activities, you’ll have everything you need to inspire and engage STEM students across subjects, skill levels, and grades. All you need to do is choose the best customizable, high quality materials to teach the basics, and your middle schoolers will lead the way to innovation!
