So You Want a Makerspace

Elementary School Edition

Maker gear and STEM kits in one space. Multiple tiers - pick the one that fits your budget.

Zero Budget

What you might already have

Roughly: $0

Before spending, check the art closet, the cafeteria, the parent donation bin, and your own recycling. These materials apply across every tier on this page. A simple note to parents could fill a bin quickly.

Structural
  • Cardboard (all sizes)
  • Foam board
  • Popsicle sticks
  • Wooden dowels
  • Bamboo skewers
  • Chopsticks
  • Toothpicks
  • Straws (straight + bendy)
  • Paper + cardstock
  • Paper plates + cups
  • TP / paper towel rolls
  • Egg cartons
  • Cereal-box cardboard
Connectors
  • Rubber bands (all sizes)
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Paper clips
  • Binder clips
  • Brass brads / paper fasteners
  • Clothespins (wooden spring)
  • Twist ties
  • Velcro dots / strips
  • Tape scraps (masking, Scotch, duct, painter's)
  • Zip ties (2-3 sizes)
  • String / twine / fishing line
  • Yarn
Motion + energy
  • Balloons
  • Marbles + ball bearings
  • Small springs
  • Hair ties
  • Magnets (button + bar)
  • Ping pong balls
Sheet + finish
  • Aluminum foil
  • Wax / parchment paper
  • Index cards
  • Corks
  • Empty bottles + caps
  • Random scrap wire

Cool stuff students can make

  • Cardboard marble runs, mazes, and mini arcades
  • Paper airplanes tuned for distance, accuracy, or hang time
  • Rubber-band-powered cars, paddle boats, and slingshots
  • Balloon-powered rockets and straw-and-plate hovercraft
  • Popsicle-stick bridges that hold real weight
  • Catapults and trebuchets from skewers, rubber bands, and clothespins
  • Aluminum-foil boats that float pennies until they sink
  • Stomp rockets and straw rockets from bottles + tape
  • Rubber-band guitars, kazoos, and other found-object instruments

What they learn

  • You can build an astonishing amount with materials you already have on hand
  • The make-it / test-it / fix-it loop with the cheapest possible materials
  • Where structure comes from: triangles, trusses, tension and compression
  • How to test, measure, and improve a design with no specialized tools
  • Safe use of scissors, tape, glue, and hand tools as real instruments
Low Budget

Starter Makerspace

Roughly: $1,400 - $2,000

One 3D printer, cardboard tools, and enough electronics to run a full circuits unit.

  • Bambu A1 mini (1 x $250)
  • Starter filament kit (Elegoo PLA, 4-6 rolls) (4 x $15 ≈ $60)
  • Spare build plate + scraper + parts bin (1 x $20 + 1 x $20 ≈ $40)
  • Budget Windows laptop for slicing (Bambu Studio doesn't run on Chromebook) (1 x $400)
  • Makedo tools or clones (1 x $15)
  • Low-temp hot glue guns with full-size sticks (4 x $25 ≈ $100)
  • Kid-safe scissors + paramedic shears (1 x $30 + 4 x $5 ≈ $50)
  • Tape wall: masking, duct, painter's (1 x $30)
  • Kid-size safety glasses, classroom 12-pack (12 x $2 ≈ $24) ›
  • Bench vise / clamps (third-hand for cutting + gluing) (1 x $20) ›
  • Rolling cart or locking cabinet (1 x $100)
  • Snap Circuits Classic SC-300 (1 x $60)
  • Paper circuits: copper tape + coin cells + LEDs (1 x $30)
  • Breadboard + jumper wire class set (8-10) (1 x $80)
  • Alligator clip leads in bulk (1 x $25)
  • Component grab bag: LEDs, resistors, switches, piezos, DC motors, CR2032 coin batteries (1 x $50)
  • 2 Makey Makeys + alligator clip leads (2 x $50 + 1 x $15 ≈ $115)
What it covers. Cardboard design, structural engineering, prototyping, the "plug a banana into a keyboard" Makey Makey moment, one printer at the center, and a complete circuits unit anchored by a Snap Circuits SC-300.

Cool stuff students can make

  • 3D-printed name tags, keychains, and game pieces in school colors (downloaded and printed)
  • Customized phone stands, fidget toys, and locker hooks (tweaked from a starter file to fit them)
  • Original characters, tools, and sculptures designed from scratch - the kind of thing that didn't exist anywhere on Earth before a kid clicked "new file"
  • Cardboard arcade games, marble runs, and castles big enough to climb into
  • Greeting cards that light up when you open them (paper circuits)
  • Working flashlights, alarms, and fans built from snap circuits
  • A banana piano, pickle drums, or pencil-lead synth (Makey Makey)
  • Cardboard musical instruments they invented from scratch

What they learn

  • The make-it / fix-it / make-it-better loop at the heart of engineering
  • Series vs parallel circuits, polarity, switches, conductors
  • 3D printing from idea to physical object in one class period
  • Real tool use: glue guns, scissors, scoring tools, a bench vise
  • Documenting and iterating their own designs
Medium Budget

Established Makerspace

Roughly: $8,000 - $12,000 cumulative

Adds parallel printing, a soldering bench, vinyl cutting, sewing, programmable robotics across grade bands, and a laser.

  • ChompSaw for cardboard (1 x $350)
  • Kid-friendly sewing machine (1 x $150)
  • Second Bambu A1 mini (1 x $250)
  • Bambu A1 with AMS for multicolor (1 x $560)
  • Sturdy work tables + adjustable stools (2 x $150 + 8 x $20 ≈ $460)
  • Pegboard / SKADIS + Gridfinity printed bins (1 x $120)
  • Arduino Nano clones in bulk (20) + programming cables (20 x $3 ≈ $60)
  • Cricut Maker (1 x $400)
  • Vinyl + HTV starter pack: adhesive vinyl, Siser EasyWeed HTV, transfer tape, weeding tools, blank T-shirts and totes (1 x $120)
  • Desktop enclosed diode laser + activated carbon fume filter (or duct-to-outside) (1 x $1300 + 1 x $300 ≈ $1600)
  • Button maker + Cricut EasyPress 2 heat press (1 x $250 + 1 x $119 ≈ $369)
  • 2x Pinecil V2 + silver-bearing solder + brass tip-cleaning wool + silicone mats (2 x $26 + 1 x $250 ≈ $300)
  • Soldering fume extraction (1 x $80)
  • Makey Makey scaled to a class set of 8 (8 x $50 ≈ $400)
  • micro:bit class set of 10 + starter kits (1 x $250)
  • Basic multimeter (1 x $20)
  • 2-3 BeeBots (K-2) (3 x $90 ≈ $270)
  • Dash + Dot 2-pack (1 x $280)
  • Ozobot Evo 2-pack (2 x $100 ≈ $200)
  • Ozobot expansion (4 more, for 6 total) (4 x $100 ≈ $400)
What it adds. Multicolor printing, Arduino-driven wearables, solderable through-hole electronics, vinyl + soft circuits, organized storage, and a programmable-robots rotation that reaches K-2 through middle school. The diode laser handles wood and cardboard at scale.

Cool stuff students can make

  • Iron-on T-shirts, tote bags, and hoodies with school logos, team mascots, or their own designs
  • An LED necklace, bracelet, or pin they soldered themselves
  • Custom pillows, pencil cases, and small stuffed animals (sewing)
  • Multi-color 3D-printed game pieces, models, and signage
  • Laser-engraved wooden name signs, ornaments, and bookmarks
  • Coded micro:bit projects: step counter, dice, weather station, friendship light
  • A robot that runs a maze the students designed (Dash, Ozobot)
  • Button pins for clubs, classroom rewards, or campaign-style elections
  • Wearable Arduino projects: light-up costume accessories and party hats

What they learn

  • Real through-hole soldering
  • Sewing fundamentals and soft-circuit electronics
  • Blocks-to-text programming progression (micro:bit, then Arduino)
  • Laser cutting, design-for-fabrication, kerf compensation
  • Vinyl cutting, weeding, heat-pressing
  • Working across digital design AND physical fabrication in the same project
High Budget

Flagship Makerspace

Roughly: $20,000 - $32,000 cumulative

Parallel stations, full class sets for the bigger kits, signature capabilities like a bigger pro level laser, robotics class sets, and advanced materials 3D printing.

  • A1 mini farm: 3 minis + 1 A1 with AMS (3 x $250 + 1 x $560 ≈ $1310)
  • Enclosed high-temp printer: Elegoo Centauri Carbon 2 or Bambu X1 Carbon (1 x $1450)
  • Pro laser: xTool P2S (1 x $3700)
  • Second ChompSaw + bulk cardboard supply + 8 glue guns (1 x $350 + 8 x $25 ≈ $550)
  • Soldering bench scaled to 2 more Pinecils + USB-C chargers + bulk solder + extra mats (2 x $26 + 2 x $10 ≈ $72)
  • Heavy-duty workbenches + mobile tool carts (2 x $150 + 2 x $80 ≈ $460)
  • IKEA TROFAST or Akro-Mils tray storage (1 x $200)
  • Gridwall throughout the room (6 x $120 ≈ $720)
  • CAD + video workstation (1 x $1500)
  • 3D scanner (Revopoint POP 3 or similar) (1 x $700)
  • Embroidery machine (1 x $450)
  • Electronics rework station (1 x $200)
  • Video + podcast corner (1 x $800)
  • Arduino class set scaled to 60 Nano clones (60 x $3 ≈ $180)
  • Makey Makey scaled to a class set of 12 (12 x $50 ≈ $600)
  • Sphero Bolt 5-pack (grades 4-8) (5 x $150 ≈ $750)
What it adds. The things that make a visit-worthy room: a print farm, a soldering bench big enough for a class, full-room signage and storage, a middle-school class set for Sphero Bolt, pro laser, an enclosed high-temp printer, a CAD + video corner, a 3D scanner, and a podcast nook.

Cool stuff students can make

  • Embroidered school merch, patches, and game-day gear
  • A robotic arm they designed in CAD, 3D-printed, and programmed
  • An assistive device for a real person: grip helpers, bottle openers, fidget rings
  • A 3D scan of a clay self-portrait, cleaned up and re-printed at any size
  • A real podcast episode about a school history project
  • Laser-cut puzzle boxes with engraved personal designs
  • Working data-logging sensor rigs for science fair (temperature, light, motion)
  • Stop-motion shorts with their own 3D-printed props and sets
  • A class-wide soldered electronics gift: ornaments, signs, classroom art

What they learn

  • Real CAD (Tinkercad → Fusion / Onshape) at a meaningful depth
  • Multi-machine workflows: design → print → laser → assemble
  • Audio and video production: recording, editing, mics, lighting
  • 3D scanning, mesh repair, and reverse engineering
  • Class-scale electronics and soldering bench management
  • Engineering iteration on real artifacts that ship to real users

Makerspaces Worth Looking At

Six real spaces across the spread - elementary, independent, public library, and museum. Each one has ideas a K-5 school can borrow today. Browse all 67 researched spaces, including 25 local to Atlanta ›

Mt. Vernon Elementary MakerSpace

Elementary school · Yorktown, VA

A K-5 library-based makerspace with a published rotation schedule (two weeks of every three) and a "Maker Mondays" after-school series led by parent volunteers.

Rotation schedule Parent-led
Visit page ›

Ocean City Primary Lego-Space

Elementary school · Ocean City, NJ

Third-graders identified an unused storage room, drew the plans, built the budget, and pitched the school board themselves. 65,000 bricks plus giant Everblocks that form the walls.

Photos Student-led pitch
Read Edutopia feature ›

Nueva School I-Labs

K-12 independent · Hillsborough, CA

PreK-12 innovation labs on two campuses with licensed engineers and a full-time shop manager on staff. Publishes the stat that 72% of students use the space weekly.

Photos Campus tours
Visit page ›

Chicago Public Library Maker Lab

Public library · Chicago, IL

The first free, publicly-accessible library makerspace in the US (2013). Open Shop hours require no registration - a rare open-door policy.

Photos Workshops calendar
Visit page ›

Octavia Lab (LAPL)

Public library · Los Angeles, CA

Makerspace in the Central Library's historic lower level, named for sci-fi author Octavia E. Butler. Full podcast and livestream studio alongside fabrication tools.

Photos Named-space story
Visit page ›

Exploratorium Tinkering Studio

Museum · San Francisco, CA

Open R&D lab whose activities - marble machines, cardboard automata, light play - became the core vocabulary of K-12 tinkering. Their project library is effectively a free curriculum.

Photos Project videos Open curriculum
Visit page ›

See all 67 researched makerspaces ›

Where next

Consults are free. Happy to help you trim or expand the list to match your budget and your room.

Book a Free Consult