Our community is dedicated to democratizing digital fabrication learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. UNPLUGGED is our timely approach to digital fabrication learning that includes this curated lesson collection for teachers and parents as they work with students at home.
If you have a lesson or can adapt a lesson that can be done without access to a Fab Lab, please share it with our community. Fully analog lessons that can teach digital fabrication processes with common items found at home are also welcome.
Create an Obama Poster
Students will engage with concepts of leadership and service and reflect on MLK and Obama’s legacy in a variety of different ways before creating their own ‘Obama Hope’ poster.
Exploring Arduino
This is a 5 days track focus on learning basic circuits theory and fundamentals in addition to Micro-controllers (parts and operation). Also, we will make some advance applications using the…
Digital Circuits
This is a 5 days Track focus on learning basic circuits theory and fundamentals in addition to Micro-controllers ( parts and operation ). Also we will make some applications using…
Mini T-Shirt Cannon
Engineer a mini T-shirt cannon out of a toilet paper roll and rubber bands to shoot marshmallows at a target or into a crowd! Safety note: This activity requires…
Cardboard Backboard
Learn how to make a cardboard backboard out of household materials. Once assembled, complete the attached statistics worksheet and see how many shots you can make. Apply digital fabrication skills…
Unplugged: Make and Animate- The Thaumatrope
Makers create Thaumatropes with low tech methods and materials. Suitable for fab lab projects from home.
Unplugged: Projecting Geometry for Precision Cutting and Assembly
In this lesson you’ll learn how to make complex and precise geometric assemblies – like the skateboard halfpipe seen here – without the need for a laser cutter. Inherent to…
Unplugged: Design a Biomechanical Cyborg
This activity is a perfect blend of science and creativity as students work with their partner(s) to create their version of a cyborg appendage (or device). This part must mimic the workings…
Unplugged: Cardboard Container
Students are introduced to the Engineering Design Process by creating a cardboard container to hold the contents of their pocket. In this rapid prototyping activity, each step of the EDP…
Unplugged: Makers Making Good- Stopping the Spread
Designed for distance learning, home schooling, and maker machine independent learning. Using household materials, students prototype devices to help stop the spread of infectious diseases.
Coding 3D Models Using Tinkercad Codeblocks
Inspired by contemporary South African baskets and hats, this activity explores craft through computation, 3D modeling and 3D printing. Students will use object-oriented computer programming, meaning they will place a…
UNPLUGGED lessons will:
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Make use of materials and tools found at home.
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Specify learning objectives that are clear and measurable.
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Provide details in each step so that many others can follow.
Tag your lesson with “Unplugged,” so we can feature it in the collection. You can also “Remix” a lesson from another contributor if you have an idea to make it analog. Thanks for helping make this time away from our Fab Labs and maker spaces educational and inspiring.
Four Tiered Code & Stitch Making Activity
This is an activity that can be conducted in makerspace for interested students. Students with different level of coding experiences will be able to find suitable levels of task to…
January 21, 2026
Bright Ideas: Lighting Up Art Through the Design Process
Students design and build a functional paper-based electrical circuit using copper tape, LEDs, and coin cell batteries. The circuit is integrated into an original artwork (symbol, illustration, or abstract design).…
January 19, 2026
Traffic Light Centers
As education assistants in the elementary school setting, we frequently observe students’ need to confirm that their work aligns with the parameters and expectations established by the teacher. However, these…
January 10, 2026
Creatures from the Island of Corso 3.0
This creative STEM and maker-based lesson is inspired by the book Criaturas da Ilha de Corso, written by Angela Lago, José Roberto Torero, and Pedro Hamdan das Pedras. In the…
January 4, 2026
Transport for Lucia the Snail
This hands-on STEM workshop is inspired by the children’s book Lúcia Já Vou Indo, written and illustrated by Maria Heloísa Penteado. In the story, Lucia is a snail who is…
January 4, 2026
Lights, camera… action!
This is a lesson where students explore circuits, storytelling principles and build a scenario to present their story. The idea is that a group of students imagine and create a…
January 2, 2026
New Year Greetings with electronics
The main goal of this lesson is to create a simple electrical Christmas toy that lights up when pressed. During this lesson, we’ll explore simple electrical circuits, how they…
December 28, 2025
Emotions in Motion – مشاعر في حركة
This session explores the role of emotions and how they can be expressed through colors, shapes, and sounds. Children engage in an interactive activity using the Makey Makey electronic kit…
December 17, 2025
Awarness Card – بطاقــة توعويـــــة
During this workshop, participants will assemble a simple circuit using conductive tape and chibitronics LED. Participants will learn about sustainability and awareness about energy conservation. خلال هذه الورشة، سيقوم…
December 17, 2025
AI Storytelling – سرد القصص بالذكاء الاصطناعي
In this workshop participants are going to be introduced to AI & Storytelling, they will use Yarn platform that utilizes AI features to make a story about empowering women in…
December 16, 2025
Renewable Energy Lab Tutorial for UNIHIKER K10
This kit is a scientific exploration kit based on the UNIHIKER K10. It is equipped with components such as a wind power generator, a solar panel, and an energy storage…
December 16, 2025
Speed Rolling Down A Ramp | Smart Science Projects
This hands-on science and technology course guides students to recreate Galileo’s classic inclined plane experiment using Micro:bit, BOSON light sensors, and self-made cardboard structures. Students will first master the principle…
December 16, 2025
Protect our teeth
Understand the structure of your teeth and develop good habits to take care of them.Caring for your teeth should start with daily habits, developing good practices for using and protecting…
December 15, 2025
Programmable Electronic Musical Instruments
Students will construct their own electronic musical instruments, and get introduced to block programming to make their instruments play sounds.
December 14, 2025
Reaction Game using Micro:bit
This lesson works better if students had some previous experience working with Scratch or similar coding software. The lesson focuses on students creating a reaction game with simple materials and…
December 14, 2025
Constelations
During this lesson, students are able to experiment with electricity a topic that they had been learning before, which is constellations. This lesson has a combination of FabLab interactive activities…
December 9, 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.