Learn SketchUp by Modeling DIY Lego Bricks

When we got our first 3D printer at Clear Spring School, my students were excited about finding things on Thingiverse and printing out stuff, but after a while that’s about as exciting as watching an inkjet printer. I wanted them to design things of their own, using a basic CAD modeling tool. 

As a woodworker, I’d been using SketchUp, so I devised these instructions for making a simple rectangular Lego-compatible brick. All the kids knew about Lego bricks and had played with them, and fitting one Lego to another presented a good test of the final outcome — a measurable result that could be felt in their own fingers, and that was directly related to their own experience.

One of the best things about the project was that the directions had to be followed to a T. Not all students, 5th grade through high school, were successful. Age seemed not to be the crucial factor.

Here are the instructions. They are long and they are hard, but they work. And unlike most learning where assessment is done by third parties, the assessment in this project is directly observed by the student.

Special thanks to my friend David Heim, author of SketchUp Success for Woodworkers, for helping me to clarify and refine these instructions.