FabMaker Project: Our Table Challenge

The following blog post is by Peggy Healy Stearns, Lead Software Designer, FabMaker Studio.

Peter H. Reynolds’ new picture book for all ages, Our Table, tells the story of a young girl named Violet who notices  that, as her dad, mom and brother spend more and more time on their devices,  their once lively dining table is shrinking! Violet longs to bring her family back together and dreams up a project on which they can all collaborate –- designing and building a new table! 

This timely story provides an opportunity for children to consider the importance of gathering with family and friends – and to engage in a meaningful engineering design process. 

To get ready and set context for the challenge, after reading Our Table, discuss students’ memories dining with family and friends. What made those times special? Where did they eat? Was there anything special about their table?

Peter’s Creative Challenge!

Peter loves using his imagination to design and make things - drawings, paintings, sculptures, and paper mache animals! And so, Peter is excited to present a special maker challenge to your students: “Using FabMaker Studio, imagine, design and fabricate your own table and/or chairs to send to me!” Peter will select some finished projects to feature on the FableVision Learning websites and social media. 

So, let’s get started! Have students work collaboratively to Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Test and Improve a paper or cardstock prototype.

Ask: What kind of table would you like? How big should it be? What shape? Does it matter how it looks? Use questions like these to define the criteria. Students may want to research images of tables and interview family members. Then outline constraints – e.g., the final prototype must be designed with FabMaker Studio and constructed with paper or cardstock.

Now it’s time to Imagine. Have students brainstorm and sketch different designs and consider each option based on the criteria they set earlier. A single design may not meet all the criteria. Which criteria are most important? Once students choose a favorite design, they’re ready for the next step.

Tell students to use a ruler to draw a Plan for their table and label dimensions. 

Then have them use FabMaker Studio to Create their prototype. They can use the Chair design found in the FabMaker Ready-Made 3D projects. This starter project shows how Shapes can be combined to create a flat pattern that folds into a 3-dimensional object. Their tables might be constructed of a single flat net like the chair or made of multiple elements folded and constructed individually and then combined. 

Encourage students to be inspired by Peter’s creativity. Suggest they use FabMaker’s color and texture tool -- or use plain white cardstock and color by hand. 

If there’s time, ask students to consider how they would Test their prototype? Tell them to refer back to the criteria they set at the start. If their table’s not quite right, ask them how they would Improve their design.

You can adapt this activity to different grade levels by challenging students to use FabMaker Studio to design other 2D and 3D objects from the book. Younger students can weld shapes to create fruits and vegetables. More experienced makers may want to design bowls or glasses or even the vegetable cart.

Need more tips and tricks on how to use FabMaker Studio? Check out the Tutorials page. 

Send your students’ designs to info@fablevisionlearning.com or use the #FabMakerChair in your social posts . We’ll feature the best designs on the FableVision Learning Spotlight Blog!