Collaborating with Project Design Lab 2025

 This summer Create Make Learn is collaborating with the Community Engagement Lab for its annual summer institute: Project Design Lab. I'm excited to introduce two of my favorite tools to support project based learning with participants.

Slides: Adding Audio to Student Projects

Slides: Meaningful Making with Cuttle.xyz

Discovering CREA: Where Movement Meets Technology in Brooklyn

Discovering CREA: Where Movement Meets Technology in Brooklyn

Picture this: children leaping and crouching to tap projected asteroids floating across enormous video game backdrops, their movements triggering bursts of color and sound. This wasn't a scene from a futuristic movie—it was my introduction to CREA, a unique interactive space at Industry City in Brooklyn that's redefining how kids learn through play.

A Space That Lives and Breathes

As someone constantly in search of creative spaces and innovative learning environments, I was immediately captivated by what I witnessed. Children threw beanbags at targets, each hit rewarded with visual explosions. Suddenly, they abandoned their stations to race along a pathway lined with illuminated Power Packs—glowing stations that changed color as hands slammed them in sequence, turning their bodies into game controllers.

What struck me most was the thoughtful balance between high-tech and analog experiences. Alongside sophisticated projection systems, the space featured oversized therapeutic balls for exploration, hammocks suspended from the ceiling for quiet moments, a rotating climbing wall, and a bright climbing structure. The lighting responded to movement, colors shifted throughout the space, and music provided rhythm as children moved naturally between stations with genuine engagement.

I watched in fascination as kids developed coordination, problem-solving skills, and collaboration while fully absorbed in play—learning without traditional instruction through movement and creative interaction.

Meeting the Visionaries

As I observed this remarkable environment, co-founder Kate Gyllenhaal began sharing her vision for creating an interactive space that combines movement, gaming, and creativity around environmental themes. "CREA actually means 'create' in Latin," she explained with evident passion. "We wanted to merge creative movement with creative technology in a way that stimulates both movement and creativity."

Kate described the HERO adventure unfolding before us as a series of four adrenaline-pumping missions through deep space. She continued to outline CREA's summer camps, after-school programs, and school partnerships, all centered around teaching design thinking and STEAM-based game design skills. As a longtime advocate of design thinking, I was thrilled to see how CREA uses this approach to engage kids in designing their own games while continuously iterating and adding new experiences to the space.

I shared my own work as an ambassador of design thinking, creativity, and innovative technology in schools. What a joy to discover not only such an exciting and engaging space for children, but also a kindred spirit. We made plans to meet again and continue discussing our shared passion for creating engaging learning spaces where children learn with creative technology.

A Deeper Collaboration

At our next meeting, I had the pleasure of meeting co-founder Elizabeth Spratt, whose fascination with technology parallels my own. Soon we were sharing experiences about empowering kids with circuit boards and code. Elizabeth and Kate invited me to join them for their next school vacation camp to design STEAM-based activities around a new game theme centered on Arctic Melt.

What an incredible collaboration! I quickly began designing prototypes using Scratch and circuit boards that would engage campers in the process of designing games that could help address Arctic Melt challenges.

Learning Through Collaboration

The experience of working with the CREA team taught me so much. A professional game designer kicked off the week, setting an inspiring tone. The camp leaders were masterful guides, leading children through game missions while balancing structure and free play to create days filled with fun, engaging learning. I had the opportunity to follow the design thinking process, testing and revising my prototypes of STEAM activities in real-time with enthusiastic young participants.

Reflections and Gratitude

I'm deeply grateful to the CREA team for giving me the chance to experience their space both as an observer and as an educational experience designer. The opportunity to see learning happen through movement, technology, and creative collaboration reinforced my belief in the power of hands-on minds-on  innovative educational experiences

And yes, I even brought my grandkids—who immediately begged to return for another CREA camp. Their enthusiasm was perhaps the best testament to what Kate, Elizabeth, and their team have created: a space where learning feels like the most natural thing in the world.

CREA demonstrates how physical activity, technology, game design, and purposeful themes can create experiences that both engage and educate. It's a model worth studying and celebrating as we continue to reimagine what learning spaces can be.

Inquiry into 3D Scanning for 3D printing

 An idea in the works ...

What if we could SCAN student projects and print them on our 3D printer?  And of course it has to be easy and affordable! 

The specific project in mind was one where 3rd grade students were studying covered bridges in their community as part of the annual Cambridge History Project.  

Check out the 2 part blog post on this project here. 

Third grade students learned about the history of the covered bridges in their community, sketched them, and then created a replica from cardboard, popsicle sticks, or other materials found in their art room.  

They displayed them on a very large map at their
Celebration of Learning.  

Meanwhile  a group of 4th grade students learned how to use Cuttle.xyz and their Glowforge laser cutter to create a multi-layered map showing the location of all the covered bridges.   

One  idea they had was to create miniature 3D printed versions of the covered bridges created by the 3rd graders and place them on the laser covered map as a way to display the Cambridge Covered Bridge Project in their classroom beyond the Celebration of Learning.  (Obviously the room size physical map and models had to be disassembled after the event) 

This is where we started to research how to scan the 3rd graders bridges.    We made progress in this inquiry, but in the end, we decided that to keep the map to scale, the bridges would have to be too tiny.  So instead they used laser cut markers and a legend for their maps. Some students chose to use the traditional Teardrop representation as markers; others created stars. 

However, I wanted to capture the valuable learning from our inquiry on 3 scanning so we could refer to it in future projects.   I would love to hear about others who are using 3D scanning with students.  If you have ideas, please email me at ldelabruere at gmail.  

OUR INQUIRY in 3D Scanning (to date) 

After much searching through Google, we settled on using the following feature of MakerWorld: 

Image to 3D models

https://makerworld.com/en/makerlab

We submitted a photo  and got a great OBJ file (or at least it looked like  it worked well from the 3D viewer on my computer) 

However, when importing into TinkerCad (the software students use) it said the OBJ file was too big  at 40 mg

And that there were issues to fix.

I was able to use a 3rd party software to reduce the size and 'fix' the file 

I was able to get the file size down to  acceptable Size, but now TinkerCad says its too complex and import it. 

Here is the photo I submitted and the resulting 3D model. 

I did not feel I had the skills to figure this out, so I reached out to my friend Rodney, who sent me a detailed explanation on how to fix this. Rodney graciously gave me permission to post his response to me here: 

"This is a notice that I get from Tinkercad frequently. It is a simple fix.

I have attached the fixed file that can be imported into Tinkercad successfully and a description of how to go about doing that.

First, download and install 3D Builder if you have not already done so.

It is a Microsoft app that is no longer in the Microsoft Store app, but can be downloaded from the microsoft store if we follow this link.

https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9wzdncrfj3t6?hl=en-us&gl=US

Go to this link and then when there click on view in store which will open another window that will allow you do download it from the official Microsoft Store (see shot)

3D Builder is not a very complex program, but I use it for quick fixes on stuff it does do well, like reducing the number of faces in a model, rather than opening up Blender to achieve the same thing (with more steps)

Once you have it installed, and you import your .stl into it, it will look a bit like this...

As you can see, a very densely packed model (which is great if needed, but we don't need that much)

We want to select the model and choose Edit-Simplify

We will use the slider to reduce the number of faces and select "reduce  faces"

Quite a difference...

Now we can import into Tinkercad easily.

Let me know if you need any further help with this.

We look forward to trying 3D Scanning in future projects.  Along with 3D prints, we had aspirations to make a 3D virtual versions of this map and their research in Co-Spaces.   We will be sure to post any future progress we make in this inquiry. 

Update:  Jen Mitchell emailed me and suggested using Merge Cube App to create 3D scans.  We have not tried this yet. 

 

Lasercut Layered Map - Covered Bridge Project at Cambridge Elementary School (Part 2)

From Confidence to Creation: Making Something Meaningful

This is the second post in our series documenting the Covered Bridge Laser Cut Map Project at Cambridge Elementary School, where 4th grade students applied their newfound maker skills to create something truly meaningful for their community--layered laser-cut maps featuring the 12 covered bridges from Cambridge's history.

In the first post in this series , we shared the first two phases of the framework used  in the Create Make Learn residency process (Inspire and Create Confidence).   Feeling inspired and confident with using Cuttle.xyz to create designs and the laser cutter to cut their designs, the 4th graders were ready for the final phase of our Create Make Learn framework: Make Something Meaningful. 

While the 4th grade students were learning to use Cuttle and the laser cutter, the third graders were working hard creating physical models of each bridge as part of this year's  annual Cambridge History project. 

Guest speakers from Cambridge shared stories and historical context about each bridge, enriching both projects with community knowledge that couldn't be found in textbooks. These conversations helped students understand that they weren't just making maps—they were preserving and sharing their community's heritage.

Third graders students wrote and recorded news broadcasts to share what they were learning with the community.   Visit the school website to listen to these news broadcast and to learn more about the 3rd grade Cambridge History Project 2025

Google Maps became an invaluable tool throughout this project. It  helped  students understand the geographic relationships between the 12  bridge locations and the broader landscape of their community.

 Only three of the original bridges still exist as covered bridges, eight have been replaced, and one has been moved to the Shelburne Museum. 

Before designing their laser-cut maps, students worked with a physical laser-cut outline of Cambridge's major roads alongside Google Maps. This tactile exploration helped students understand their community's geography in ways that digital maps alone couldn't provide.  

Student Choice and Voice through Design Decisions

This stage of the residency was filled with opportunities for student voice and choice as they begin to make collaborative  design decisions.  The blend of practical problem-solving  and creative expression provided evidence Vermont's transformative skills.  Each decision required experimentation and compromise and  gave the students an authentic project based learning experience. 

Design Decision 1: Individual Maps vs. Collaborative Tiles

The size of the laser cutter bed offered some constraints. Initially, we considered creating one large tiled map where each student pair would create a section. After discussion, students chose a different approach: each pair would create their own complete map of the entire area scaled to the size wood we could cut with the laser cutter. This decision allowed for personalization and also helped each student better understand the local geography.  

Design Decision 2: Representing Water

How do you make water look like water on a laser-cut map? Students considered multiple materials—resin, blue wax, glitter glue—before discovering that blue poster board covered with Celebrate It™ Opal Transparent Packaging Wrap created a sparkly ripple effect that beautifully represented the Lamoille River and drew attention to bridge locations.

Design Decision 3: Primary Roads 

We decided to highlight each road that the bridge was on a raised layer made from maple plywood.  This would include Rte 115,  Rte 108 S, Rte 108 N, Rte 109, and Pleasant Valley Road.  This  created both visual hierarchy and tactile distinction on our finished maps.

Design Decision 4:  Secondary Roads

Secondary roads would be scored rather than cut on draftboard layers, providing additional geographic context while creating visual contrast with the maple layer of primary roads. Scoring proved faster than engraving while still creating clear definition.

Watching our maps come to life as we worked with different materials was super exciting. We worked closely with Google Maps, LaserMapMaker.com, and Cuttle.xyz to design files to cut on our Glowforge laser cutter.  

Design Decision 5: Bridge Location Markers & Map Key

Students considered creating 3D bridge models but realized they would be too small at map scale. Instead, they developed a map key system with location markers—some teams chose stars, others used traditional teardrop map markers—creating consistency while allowing for creative expression.

 Design Decision 6: The Compass Rose

One of the design ideas that came to us near the end was to add a compass rose to the map.  We used the “Boolean Union / Weld” feature of Cuttle to  join together, a covered bridge icon, Compass points, and a circle. We engraved the compass points in the right location.  Mr. Jeremy used Google Earth to help us place it on the map in the correct orientation.

Design Decision 7: Personal Signatures and Route Markers

As finishing touches, students laser-cut miniature versions of their original mapmaker badges as signatures, claiming ownership of their work. They also added route number markers to help viewers better understand bridge locations within the road network.

Design Decision 8: Display and Community Impact

The final design decision emerged organically: where should these maps be displayed? Students toured their school, conferenced with staff members, and ultimately decided to place one map on each floor.  They used upcycled frames to finish up their display and added added laser-cut connected text title lettering. 

Showcase of Learning:

Both the 3rd grader Cambridge History Project and the 4th grade Laser Cut Map were on display at the School’s Showcase of Learning. Each of the Covered Bridge Models made by 3rd graders surrounded a large wooden map of the area.  Each bridge included a QR code that lead to a Student Newscast Video about the history of the bridge.  These videos can also be viewed on the school website and are attached to the Google Map of the Bridges.

The 4th grade MapMakers displayed their beautiful works with pride and answered lots of questions from both staff and their peers about their process. 

As the final student maps were unveiled to the third grade class, a hush fell over the students—just for a moment—before it was replaced by a rising chorus of excitement. “Wait—that’s mine! I see it! That’s my bridge!” exclaimed one student, pointing eagerly to a miniature model nestled beside a printed river bend. His classmate leaned in closer, tracing the lines of the map with her finger. “They made the whole town,” she whispered, wide-eyed.“Yeah,” said another, with excitement, “It’s like all our bridges fit together on one map!”

Later during the community showcase, our school board chair paused in front of the student’s display and spent several minutes taking it in. Watching children move from one model to the next and hearing students explain how they used 3D printing or laser cutting to bring their vision to life, he turned to our principal and said, “This is exactly what we mean when we talk about high-quality project-based learning. They're not just building bridges—they're connecting history, technology, and community. This should be a model for the whole district.

The Meaningful Making Difference

What made this project meaningful wasn't just the final products—though they were beautiful and professionally crafted. The meaning emerged from students' genuine investment in preserving and sharing their community's history, their collaborative problem-solving around real design challenges, and their pride in creating something that would educate and inspire others long after the project ended.

These weren't practice exercises or assignments to be completed and forgotten. These were contributions to their school community, preserved pieces of local history, and evidence of what young people can accomplish when given professional tools, authentic challenges, and the confidence to tackle complex creative problems.

The success of this project demonstrates the power of the Create Make Learn framework in action. When we start with inspiration rooted in authentic community connections, build confidence through manageable technical challenges, and culminate with meaningful making that serves others, students don't just learn skills—they develop the identity and mindset of makers, historians, and community contributors.

Our Cambridge mapmakers didn't just complete a project; they became stewards of their community's heritage, skilled users of professional design tools, and confident creators ready for their next meaningful making challenge.

The Cambridge Covered Bridge Map Project exemplifies how project based learning and  maker education can serve authentic learning goals while building both technical skills and community connections. .  When students create something meaningful, the learning becomes meaningful too.

The residency model blends  student enrichment and teacher professional development to support integrating hands-on minds-on STEAM  learning in your school.  Contact Lucie deLaBruere  ( ldelabruere at gmail)  for more information about adding a Create Make Learn residency to your school. 

Special thanks to the Vermont Arts Council, the Vermont Community Foundation and The Cambridge PTA for supporting this residency and to Ellen Koier and Faith Horton for inviting me to co-design this residency with them and for years of dedication to Cambridge Elementary School.