Lasercut Layered Map Covered Bridge Project at Cambridge Elementary School (Part 1)

This is the first in a series of blog posts documenting the Covered Bridge Laser Cut Map Project—a collaboration between Cambridge Elementary School students and Maker in Residence, Lucie deLaBruere.  (Part 2 can be found here)

Every Create Make Learn residency is built on a framework driven by the question: 

  "How might we inspire our students and create the confidence they need to make something meaningful?"

The Create Make Learn framework is  built on three interconnected phases:

INSPIRE → CREATE CONFIDENCE → MAKE SOMETHING MEANINGFUL

Each phase builds upon the last, creating a foundation where students feel empowered to tackle more complex creative challenges while developing real technical skills.

Phase 1: Inspire

The inspiration for this project emerged naturally from the school annual Cambridge History project.  As the  4th graders entered the STEAM makerspace, we connected them to their own learning journey—reminding them of their Cambridge history project from the previous year, then introducing them to the current 3rd grade project featuring the covered bridges of their community.

We shared an exciting possibility: "One of our goals this week is for you and your teachers to create confidence with using one of the amazing tools in our makerspace —our Glowforge  laser cutter—and then make something beautiful and meaningful for your school community."

Phase 2: Create Confidence

Once students are inspired, we focus on building confidence with new tools and processes. Our first skill-builder sprint guided learners through designing a personalized laser-cut badge using Cuttle.xyz—a vector design platform that works seamlessly on the Chromebooks available to our students.

Skill-Builder 1: Personal MapMaker Badges

Students learned essential vector design skills through creating something personal and immediately meaningful to them:

The Learning Process

We broke down the badge creation into manageable steps:

Shape Basics: Students browsed shapes, selected one, and resized it to 2.5 inches, learning about layers, fill, and stroke properties

Layer Management: They duplicated their shape, renamed layers, and practiced expanding and collapsing layer groups

Text Integration: Students added their names using connected text, positioning it thoughtfully on their design

Boolean Operations: They learned to create holes using boolean difference and to weld elements together using boolean union

File Export: Finally, they saved, titled, and exported their designs as SVG files

From Digital to Physical: Our Workflow

 We used  the following workflow to get student designs from Chromebooks to the laser cutter.

1.  Students export their SVG files and submit them through a Google Form

2.  Responses are collected in a spreadsheet with downloadable links

3.  Files are downloaded to the computer controlling the laser cutter

4.  Students upload their SVGs to the Glowforge app, select materials (cherry plywood for the top layer), and configure cut settings

5.  With a "fire buddy" present, students watch their designs come to life

Adding Complexity: Two-Layer Design

After successfully cutting their top layer from cherry plywood, students designed bottom layers using different colored wood (draftboard or maple). This second layer included personalized images to be scored rather than cut, giving students practice with the complete workflow they'd need for the larger map project.

The final step—gluing the layers together—gave students their first tangible success and immediate pride in their work.

The Power of Personal Connection

By starting with something personal, students were immediately engaged and motivated to master the technical skills they'd need. These weren't abstract exercises; these were their badges, with their names, created with their hands using professional-grade tools. The badges would later become part of the final laser cut map das a signature of their contribution to their community.

This personal investment created the perfect foundation for confidence-building. Students troubleshot design challenges, learned from mistakes, and celebrated successes together. By the end of our skill-builder session, they had not only mastered vector design basics and laser cutter operation—they were eager to tackle something bigger.

What's Next: Making Something Meaningful

With inspiration sparked and confidence built, we were ready for the final phase of our framework: making something meaningful. Armed with their new skills, students were prepared to create layered laser-cut maps featuring the locations of the 12 covered bridges from their Cambridge History project.

In our next blog post, we'll share how this confidence translated into  the creation of something truly meaningful for their school community -  several laser cut maps of the covered bridges in their community.  Here's a sneak preview.

The Create Make Learn framework demonstrates that when we start with inspiration, build confidence through manageable challenges, and connect learning to meaningful outcomes, students don't just acquire skills—they develop the mindset of makers who can tackle any creative challenge.

Coming Next: How 4th graders transformed from badge-makers to cartographers, creating detailed laser-cut maps that brought their community's history to life.