The Fab-in-a-Box Lesson Collection serves as an excellent starting point for introducing the Fab-in-a-Box cart to both learners and educators. This collection of engaging lessons is designed to get everyone started with digital fabrication, using the cart’s 3D printer, laser cutter, and vinyl cutter. For xDesign How-To Videos Click Here!
Fab-in-a-Box Balsa Glider
Students will design and fabricate a glider. Test its flight, then optimize their design by adjusting the shape of its wings, tail, or body. This activity will introduce two…
Fab-in-a-Box Dice
Design your own 3D-printable dice! Use CAD (computer-aided design) software to build out an idea in three dimensions. Choose your dice geometry and decide what to put on each face.…
Fab-in-a-Box Spinning Tops
Give engineering a spin: experiment with physics while designing and fabricating a custom spinning top! Get hands-on with energy, force, and momentum as you experiment with different 3D-printed designs. How…
Fab-in-a-Box Botanical Press
Combine art and science: customize and fabricate a botanical press that can be used over and over again to preserve leaves and flowers for crafts or dissection.
Fab-in-a-Box Stamps
Students will embark on a creative journey to design a personal logo that reflects their (or a brand’s) unique identities and values. By combining graphic design principles with self-reflection, they…
Fab-in-a-Box Invention Kits
Create your very own invention kit! Design and laser cut a set of two-dimensional shapes that can slot together to make three-dimensional structures. Finished kits can be used for…
Fab-in-a-Box Pop-Up Cards
Explore math, form, and function while engineering pop-up paper art. Use a vinyl cutter to make two-dimensional artwork “pop!” Add score and cut lines to cardstock to fabricate custom, folding…
Fab-in-a-Box Stickers
Design and fabricate your very own custom stickers! Use digital CAD software to bring your ideas to life before cutting them on the vinyl cutter. Whether you’re a budding graphic…
about Fab-in-a-box
Fab-in-a-Box provides an affordable, turnkey solution that includes all necessary tools, materials, and comprehensive teacher guides. Optimized for various settings—classrooms, after school programs, clubs, scouting groups, summer camps, museums, libraries, and community centers—this curriculum empowers users to dive into the world of digital fabrication with confidence and ease.
IN THIS COLLECTION
The Fab-in-a-Box Lesson Collection offers three distinct engagement levels, making it adaptable across various formal and informal contexts, regardless of the audience’s age. Each level is designed to cater to different time constraints and ability levels, with handouts generally provided for all. The Exposure level requires the lightest effort and shortest time, with many pre-supplied files and materials. The Engagement level involves a medium effort, longer duration, or more advanced concepts, with adjustable files for parametric design. The Deep Dive level demands the most effort and longest duration, often spanning multiple sessions with minimal or no pre-supplied files, and may include multiple parts. Activities include vinyl cutting for stickers and paper pop-ups, laser cutting for invention kits, stamps, and botanical presses, and 3D printing for spinning tops, dice, and casting & molding projects. Some activities, like automata and gliders, utilize a combination of tools, ensuring a comprehensive hands-on learning experience.
xDesign how-to videos
Explore our collection of concise how-to videos on designing in SOLIDWORKS xDesign for the Fab-in-a-Box cart. These videos, which can be paired with the Fab-in-a-Box lessons, provide practical guidance for both learners and instructors. Watch the videos here.
Learning the IPO principle through a house automation model
This lesson is based on Studio 5’s “Eco House” model. Available at: https://www.scopesdf.org/scopesdf_lesson/eco-house/ Students learn about the IPO principle and how some new electronic components work. Using this knowledge,…
February 16, 2025
SEQUENCE using Scratch
Sequencing In the early years students must develop sequencing skills. These skills help young learners to logically structure language and writing. It’s essential to effective oral and written communication. …
February 16, 2025
Light it Up
Design Challenge: Design and build a lamp/light with non-addressable LEDs and an on/off switch. Constraints: Design and laser cut the body of the lamp Use a non-addressable LED light strip,…
February 12, 2025
Station learning electronics
In station learning, learners can experimentally explore the essential fundamentals of electronics using a self-learning process. You will learn about diodes, light-emitting diodes, capacitors and transistors. The circuits are simulated…
February 9, 2025
Talking Trash Bin: Interactive Electronics and Programming Project
In this lesson, students will embark on a self-directed learning journey to design and implement a technical project focused on environmental conservation and sustainable resource use. The project aims to…
February 9, 2025
FCH – Taking care of myself
This activity is part of the FabConnectHer project, dedicated to empowering future female innovators by providing inspiration, skills, and networks to make a meaningful impact in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering,…
January 31, 2025
FCH – Electronic circuits with conductive dough
This activity is part of the FabConnectHer project, dedicated to empowering future female innovators through inspiration, skills and networks to make an impact in the field of STEAM through education,…
January 30, 2025
Digital Fabrication and Programming
Students create a design that has a repeating element using TurtleStitch, PEmbroider, Tinkercad Codeblocks, then embroider or print it
January 29, 2025
UV Resin Lens Challenge
In this lesson, students will be introduced to the basics of microscopy, the concept of magnification, and learn and apply the lens and magnification equations. Students will engage in hands-on…
January 28, 2025
FCH – Quiz Board
This activity is part of the FabConnectHer project, dedicated to empowering future female innovators by providing inspiration, skills, and networks to make a meaningful impact in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering,…
January 24, 2025
FCH – FUN GEOMETRY (Building Geodesic Domes)
This activity is part of the FabConnectHer project, dedicated to empowering future female innovators through inspiration, skills and networks to make an impact in the field of STEAM through education,…
January 24, 2025
Desk Calender
This series of lessons will take you thhrough how to make a Desk Calender using the Brother ScanNcut.
January 13, 2025
Lantern
This series of lessons will take you through step by step how to make a Tea Light Lantern using the Brother ScanNCut.
January 13, 2025
Shadow Theatre
Lessons with 5 graders about shadow theatre. Learners listen short Fairy-tale “The Foolish Man” by famous Armenian writter Hovhannes Tumanyan, Draw an illustrative picture of the Fairy-tale, they can draw…
January 11, 2025STANDARDS-ALIGNED
Community contributed lessons aligned with Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) offer formal educators innovative pathways to teaching content knowledge. The Fab I Can Statements are a resource to develop technology-literate learning progressions to align with content standards.
FAB TESTED
Periodically lessons are adapted and tested by the Fab Foundation team based on a call for submissions from fabbers, educators, and makers. Our inaugural set of lessons for the SCOPES-DF project were Fab Tested in 2016 and are tagged Fab Tested on the website.
OPEN-SOURCE VALUES
Lessons are distributed under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC license, that permits free use and re-purposing by others.