Now Enrolling in Johor Bahru!

Design It. Print It. Understand the STEM Elements Behind Every Object.

Print STEM Academy uses design and 3D printing as the engine for every Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths lesson. Children aged 5–16 don't just learn STEM — they see it being made, test it, and hold the proof in their hands.

🖨️
Every Lesson Includes a Print
3D design software + FDM printers + real STEM concepts. Every session produces a physical object your child can see being made, test and understand.
Ages 5–16 · 3 Print-Led Pathways
🔬
Explorers
First designs, first prints, first science models
Ages 5–7
⚙️
Innovators
TinkerCAD, mechanisms & functional prototypes
Ages 8–11
🚀
Engineers
Fusion 360, robotics & capstone projects
Ages 12–16
3
Age-Specific Print Pathways
40
3D Print-Led STEM Lessons
1
Printed Object Per Session
10
High End FDM Printers

The 3D Printer Is the Lesson

At Print STEM Academy the 3D printer is not a reward or an extra — it is the primary teaching tool. Every scientific concept, every engineering principle, every maths idea and technology project is learned through real 3D printed items.

📐

Design to Understand

When a child designs a working gear train, they are applying gear-ratio mathematics. When they model a bridge truss, they are making structural decisions about compression and tension. CAD software demands precision — you cannot bluff your way through a 3D model. The design process is the learning process.

🖨️

Print to Test

The FDM printer is the world's most honest feedback mechanism. A gear with the wrong tooth pitch will not mesh. A bracket with insufficient wall thickness will snap under load. Children iterate, measure, redesign, and reprint — experiencing the full engineering design cycle authentically, every session.

🧠

Hold to Remember

Holding a physical object you designed cements abstract concepts into long-term memory. Every child leaves every session with a printed artefact that embodies the STEM concept they worked on — a tangible, permanent record of their growing knowledge that also makes the best show-and-tell item at school the next day.

Three Print-Led Pathways

Every pathway is engineered for the exact cognitive stage your child is at. The CAD software, printer complexity, STEM depth, and project ambition all scale precisely with age — so every child is working at exactly the right challenge level.

Ages 5–7 · Foundation Level

Young Explorers

"I designed it, the printer made it, I understand why."

Young Explorers are introduced to 3D design through child-friendly tablet-based visual tools and guided CAD templates. They watch their creation grow on the print bed — layer by layer — and discover the science behind what they built by testing the object they made. No textbooks, no worksheets; every concept is experienced through design and print.

Projects include geometry through printing shapes, forces through load-testing structures, life science through printing anatomical models. Everything is visual, tactile, and immediately meaningful.

Tablet-based visual 3D design
Geometry & 3D shape properties
Forces: push, pull, compression
Biology via anatomical models
Printer layer observation & science
Measurement with printed rulers

Sample Modules — Explorers Pathway

Module 1 · Science / Biology
My Skeleton: Designing & Printing Human Bones
Children learn the names and functions of major bones, then use a guided template to design and print a simplified femur or rib cage cross-section. They compare their printed model to diagrams and their own body — discovering that bone shape is directly determined by its mechanical function.
Biology3D Anatomy ModelShape & Function
Module 2 · Engineering / Physics
Strong Shapes: Printing & Load-Testing Columns
Which printed shape bears the most weight — a solid cylinder, a hollow cylinder, or a triangulated column? Children design all three using identical filament volumes, then stack measured weights until each fails. They record which shape held most and explain why, discovering structural engineering through physical evidence.
Structural EngineeringForcesFair Testing
Module 3 · Maths
Geometry Zoo: Printing Every 3D Shape
Children design and print the complete shape curriculum — cuboids, spheres, cones, cylinders, pyramids and triangular prisms. They count faces, edges and vertices on their printed models and compare identical shapes printed at different scales, exploring the concept of proportional enlargement through physical objects they can hold and measure.
Geometry3D Shape PropertiesMeasurement
Module 4 · Science / Biology
Inside a Leaf: Printing a Plant Cell Cross-Section
After exploring what plants need to survive, children use a guided design template to create a layered cross-section of a plant cell — cell wall, membrane, nucleus, and chloroplasts printed in distinguishable layers. They compare their printed plant cell to a printed animal cell model and identify the structural differences that explain why plants can make their own food.
Plant BiologyCell Structure ModelComparative Science
Module 5 · Technology
How the Printer Thinks: Infill, Layers & Density
Children design a simple cube and print it three times — with 10%, 50%, and 100% infill. They weigh each cube, compare stiffness, and discuss how internal structure determines both strength and material use. First introduction to materials technology, manufacturing decisions, and the engineering trade-off between mass and performance.
Materials TechnologyFDM Print ScienceMass & Density
Ages 8–11 · Intermediate Level

Innovators

"Design with purpose. Print with precision. Test with data."

Innovators use TinkerCAD to create increasingly complex prints that solve real engineering problems. Every module produces a functional, testable artefact: a bridge that holds measured loads, a gear train with calculated ratios, a planetary model built to mathematical scale, or a precision-fit electronics enclosure for a micro:bit sensor.

Includes advanced Design & Technology, Computing, and Maths. Children write design briefs, measure their prints to the millimetre with calipers, record test data in tables, plot graphs, and draw evidence-based conclusions.

TinkerCAD & intro Fusion 360
Precision measurement & calipers
Gears, levers & mechanisms
Tolerances & assembly fits
Micro:bit sensor enclosures
Scale, ratio & proportion in CAD

Sample Modules — Innovators Pathway

Module 1 · Engineering / Physics
Bridge Engineering: Design, Print & Load Test
Children study triangular trusses and arch geometry, then design a 15 cm bridge span in TinkerCAD using their chosen structural principle. Bridges are printed, mounted between supports, and loaded with calibrated weights. Data is recorded, bar charts plotted, and structural decisions evaluated against physical evidence. Teams with different designs compare results and draw conclusions about the most efficient structure.
Structural EngineeringForces & LoadsTinkerCADData Analysis
Module 2 · Maths / Engineering
Gear Trains: Printing Working Mechanisms with Calculated Ratios
Children calculate gear ratios from tooth counts, then design interlocking spur gear pairs with specific ratios in TinkerCAD — accounting for the precise tolerances required for smooth meshing. Gear trains are assembled on printed axle frames and tested: does the output shaft rotate at exactly the predicted speed? Introduction to mechanical advantage, transmission systems, and the critical role of dimensional precision.
Gear Ratio MathsMechanismsTolerance DesignPrecision Printing
Module 3 · Science / Maths
The Solar System to Scale: CAD Modelling & Ratio Mathematics
Children research planetary diameters and apply a calculated scale ratio to design proportionally accurate planet models in TinkerCAD. Each planet is printed and arranged in order. Volume calculations compare Earth to Jupiter using printed diameter measurements and the sphere volume formula. Scale, ratio, unit conversion, and planetary science — all expressed through the dimensions of their printed models.
Space ScienceScale & Ratio MathsVolume Calculations
Module 4 · Technology / Computing
Smart Enclosures: Designing Precision Cases for Micro:bit Sensors
Children measure a BBC micro:bit with calipers to 0.1 mm accuracy, add calculated clearance tolerances to their TinkerCAD design, print the enclosure, and test whether it fits. The micro:bit is programmed (in MakeCode) to display sensor readings through the enclosure's designed window cutout. Iterative redesign when tolerances are wrong teaches the critical relationship between measurement, digital design, and physical manufacture.
Electronics Enclosure DesignMeasurement TolerancesMicro:bit ProgrammingIteration
Module 5 · Engineering / Physics
Lever Machines: Designing & Printing a Working Catapult
Children classify Class 1, 2, and 3 lever systems, then design all components of a working table-top catapult in TinkerCAD — arm, fulcrum cradle, pivot pin, base, and projectile cup. Fully printed and assembled, the catapult is tested at three different fulcrum positions. Launch distances are measured, recorded in a data table, and graphed to determine the experimental relationship between fulcrum position and mechanical advantage.
Levers & FulcrumsMechanical AdvantageExperimental PhysicsGraphing Data
Ages 12–16 · Advanced Level

Engineers

"Prototype it. Test it. Measure it. Prove it. Present it."

The Engineers pathway uses professional Fusion 360 parametric CAD with physical computing hardware, and multi-week capstone projects that produce genuinely functional prototypes. Students engage with real engineering constraints — material anisotropy, tolerance stacking, stress concentrations, servo torque limits, and aerodynamic geometry.

Students write full design specifications, conduct controlled mechanical tests on their printed specimens, produce technical drawings with GD&T annotations.

Fusion 360 parametric modelling
Mechanical testing & data analysis
Multi-material printing (PETG, TPU)
Technical drawing & GD&T basics
Capstone portfolio projects

Sample Modules — Engineers Pathway

Module 1 · Science / Materials Engineering
Materials Under Stress: Printing & Testing Tensile Specimens
Students design standardised dogbone tensile test specimens in Fusion 360 with systematically varied parameters — infill percentage, wall thickness, print orientation, and layer height. Specimens are loaded to failure under measured force. Students calculate cross-sectional area, plot stress vs. strain curves, compare Young's modulus approximations across print settings, and write a formal materials science report — replicating the workflow used in aerospace and biomedical engineering research.
Materials ScienceTensile TestingStress-Strain AnalysisFusion 360
Module 2 · Technology / Computing
Arduino-Controlled 3D-Printed Robotic Arm
Students design all structural components of a 3-DOF robotic arm in Fusion 360 — including precision servo horn mounts, bearing races, link members, and a two-finger gripper — with dimensionally correct clearances for SG90 servo geometry. The arm is printed in PETG for rigidity, assembled, and controlled via custom software. Students programme and document pick-and-place sequences, calculating joint angles from inverse kinematics relationships.
Robotics DesignServo KinematicsCodingPETG Printing
Module 3 · Science / Engineering
Biomedical Design: Printing a Tendon-Driven Prosthetic Finger
Students study the anatomy of human finger flexion and tendon-routing geometry, then design a cable-actuated prosthetic finger mechanism in Fusion 360. Structural links are printed in PLA; flexion springs in TPU flexible filament. Students calculate the mechanical advantage of their tendon routing, measure grip force under controlled pull loads, and evaluate their design against clinical biomedical constraints including weight, range of motion, and printability — producing a written design evaluation using MYP Design criteria.
Biomedical EngineeringLinkage MechanismsTPU Flexible PrintingMYP Design Criteria
Module 4 · Maths / Physics
Aerofoil Geometry: Printing & Testing NACA Wing Sections
Students derive NACA 4-series aerofoil coordinates from parametric equations, import the resulting spline curves into Fusion 360, and extrude wing section models at three different angles of attack. A calibrated fan test rig measures lift force on each printed section. Students plot lift coefficient vs. angle-of-attack data, identify the stall angle from their graph, and apply Bernoulli's principle and Newton's third law to explain their results.
AerodynamicsParametric MathsBernoulli's PrincipleQuantitative Experiment
Module 5 · Capstone Project
Engineering Capstone: Identify, Design, Print & Present
An 8-week independent engineering project. Students identify a genuine problem — from accessibility hardware to environmental sensor housings to mechanical assistive devices — write a full design specification with measurable success criteria, produce dimensioned Fusion 360 models and formal technical drawings, iterate through at least two printed prototypes with documented test evidence, and present their final solution to a judging panel that includes an external engineer. Every project is portfolio-ready and suitable for STEM competition entry.
Full Engineering Design CycleTechnical DrawingIterative PrototypingEngineering Presentation

Frequently Asked Questions

3D printing demands that children apply STEM concepts correctly before the printer will produce a working result. To print a functional gear train, a child must calculate the correct tooth geometry and spacing. To print a bridge that holds a measured load, they must make the right structural decisions. The printer is an honest judge — it rewards genuine understanding and exposes misconceptions immediately. This direct feedback loop, combined with the physical take-home object, produces dramatically better concept retention than any worksheet or video-based approach. Every lesson at Print STEM Academy produces a physical artefact that proves the child understood what they were taught.
Not at all. Every pathway starts from zero. Young Explorers (5–7) use tablet-based visual design tools and guided print templates that require no prior experience. Innovators (8–11) begin with TinkerCAD — which has a famously gentle learning curve, is free on any device, and is used in schools worldwide. Engineers (12–15) progress to Fusion 360 with structured step-by-step tutorials before advancing to parametric and freeform modelling. All three pathways are designed for complete beginners. Most children produce their first independent print within their second session.
All Explorers and Innovators sessions use PLA (polylactic acid) — a plant-derived bioplastic. Engineers pathway students are also introduced to PETG (higher strength functional parts) and TPU flexible filament (prosthetic and mechanism applications) under direct educator supervision. All materials meet CE and RoHS safety standards.
Limited Places — Contact Us Now to Book!

Ready to Build Your
Child's Engineering Future?

Join families across Johor Bahru watching their children design, print, test, and truly understand STEM — one printed project at a time. Book a trial session today.

📍 01-25 Sunway Grid Hub, Persiaran Medini 3, Sunway City, 79250 Iskandar Puteri  ·  hello@PrintStem.Academy  ·  📱 WhatsApp: +60 17705 4547