Welcome to the Make to Learn CAD Model Repository

The educational effectiveness of fabrication tools in K-12 maker spaces is enhanced by access to useful Computer-Assisted Design (CAD) models and associated instructional materials. Beginning in 2010, a series of curated CAD models were developed through three successive NSF grants (NSF #1030865, 151308, 1842342). Educational CAD models created through these efforts are housed in this repository. Contributors include educational associations, fabrication laboratories, community college technical programs, maker spaces in K-12 schools, and non-profit institutions. All of the 3D CAD models and associated instructional materials are made publicly available and licensed under a:

CC Attribution-Non-commercial License

The models in the Invention Kit Repository were developed through collaboration with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. These kits and instructional materials enable students to reconstruct transformational inventions in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution.

Invention Kits

Papercraft Models

Joseph Henry Collection

Math Happens

The Papercraft Models were developed over the past decade by a math teacher, Elaine Wolfe. During the past ten years, she has developed more than 300 papercraft models designed for fabrication by digital die cutters such as the Silhouette and the Cricut.

Joseph Henry taught at Princeton before becoming the first founding secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The models from this collection enable students to reconstruct inventions and scientific apparatus that Joseph Henry developed for teaching at Princeton.

The MathHappens Foundation is dedicated to creating math models and supporting development of mathematical experiences. The foundation supports use of models by teachers from all disciplines.

The repositories listed above were created through collaborations with these external contributors and with other associations that include the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, the Association for Science Teacher Education, and the International Technology and Engineering Education Association. We are interested in collaborating with other nonprofit associations dedicated to development of 3D CAD models and related instructional materials designed for use in K-12 makerspaces. For further information, please contact us at info@maketolearn.org.