Children crafting together using a 3D pen

Summer Learning Inspiration from Workshop Leaders

Who’s ready to learn and play this summer?

Change is in the air! As summer camps and enrichment opportunities go virtual, let hands-on learning come to you. Gain inspiration and insights from our summer workshop leaders to engage young learners anywhere in the world. No matter where you are this summer, get ready to create!

Morse Institute Library MakerLABRobin Fosdick, Natick, MA

Courtesy of Morse Library Makerlab
  • Floral hair clip with 3D pen art
  • 3D pen art: Person holding plant in a string ball.
  • 3D pen art of

At the Morse Institute Library, we use 3Doodler Pens in three recurring MakerLAB workshops. 3Doodler Start and Create+ pens are an important part of our MakerLAB programs for Teens (ages 11-18) and Tweens (grades 5-7). The 3Doodler pens merge art and technology, are easy to use, and encourage creative expression. It’s so exciting to watch a teen pick up a 3Doodler pen for the first time ever, then leave the workshop with a fabulous model they created themselves!

3D pens are super popular with our Teen MakerLAB & Tween MakerLAB. Some like to trace a design from a stencil, while some prefer to freehand their own creations. Awesome teen creations include a working barrette and an orb with a tree on it (inspired by iconography from The Little Prince).

MakerLAB Advanced Creative is offered to teenagers who’ve attended at least five 3D pen workshops. This program gives older teens a chance to create more complex projects. In just six hours, Mike A. created a large deer head by with a 3Doodler pen using a stencil kit.

Summer Camp Tips

  • Teach 3Doodler pen basics starting with tracing stencils, then work on freehand projects.

  • Challenge experienced Doodlers to create a larger, more complex project of their choice.

  • For advanced Doodling techniques with the Create+ pen, check out these tips.

Two Rivers Gallery MakerLab 2RGBriana Sadler, Prince George, BC

Courtesy of Two Rivers Gallery
  • Woman & child at table with 3D pen art
  • Children creating blue and orange 3D pen art at Bc Makerlab.
  • Airport travelers showcasing 3D pen luggage art
  • Boys creating cell phone 3D pen art at Bc Makerlab

3Doodler pens have proven to be popular educational tools that we use for many of our Two Rivers Gallery MakerLab programs, including school programs, day camps, adult programs, and even staff team building! The following are just a few of the ways that we have incorporated this tool into our STEAM programs.

Maker Experience is a full day STEAM event where we host 75 students from School District 57 at Two Rivers Gallery for a full day of classes covering 3D printing, 3D pens, robotics and more! 3Doodler pens are a great way to embrace technology, engineering, and art. Students use creative thinking and problem solving by using  3Doodler pens to create things like houses, spaceships, and sea creatures.

Day Camps routinely have a 3Doodler element. During a dragon and knights focused day camp, we encouraged learners to create a hand-drawn stencil of their dragon. Using 3Doodler pens, students then Doodled over their drawings, then “welded” all the pieces together with the extruded filament to make their 3D dragons!

Outreach Events with 3Doodler pens are always a hit! The Exploration Place, a local museum, held a celebration of ecosystems and we brought our 3Doodler pens. Students used the pens to build models of their own environmental ecosystems.

Summer Camp Tips

  • Invite students to pick a house, spaceship, or creature of their choice, and challenge them to create a model of it with the 3Doodler pen.

  • Offer themed days and have learners make a custom stencil to celebrate the theme. Themes could range from dragons and knights to superheroes, animals or favorite book characters. Encourage students to draw their design, Doodle the pieces, then assemble their 3D model with extruded plastic.

  • Challenge students to pick an ecosystem of their choice, then make a model of it using 3Doodler pens.

Do you have great ideas for summer learning activities? Our community wants to know what you’re planning. Share your projects with us on Twitter!

@3Doodler #3Doodler #3DoodlerEDU #SummerCamp #SummerSTEM #SummerSTEAM #WhatWillYouCreate

Images in slideshow 1 courtesy of Morse Library Makerlab, which is generously sponsored by MathWorks. Images in slideshow 2 and the primary featured image in the blog and newsletter courtesy of Two Rivers Gallery MakerLab 2RG, which is charitably supported by the Prince George Yellowhead Rotary Club.

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