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Goal100™LEARNING
Goal100 Maker Lab · Design challenges

🏗️ 14 design challenges

Each challenge has a goal, limits (constraints), a test plan and a rubric. Make version 1, test it, write the numbers, then make version 2. Every challenge is tied to lessons and to the New York State Portrait of a Graduate.

⚠️ An adult runs the printer. The nozzle (about 200 °C) and the bed are hot. Keep the room aired. Never leave a print running alone. Under 13: only with an adult right there. Resin printers are for adults only.

📷 Ask a grown-up before you post anything online, including pictures of your prints.

Penny bridge

🎓 Critical Thinker🎓 Creative Innovator

Design a bridge that spans a 100 mm gap between two boxes and holds at least 50 pennies in a paper cup.

Limits

  • Span: 100 mm gap; total length at most 140 mm
  • At most 15 g of PLA (check the slicer)
  • Prints in under 1 hour, no supports

Test plan

  1. Set two boxes 100 mm apart. Put the bridge across.
  2. Hang or set a paper cup in the middle. Add pennies 5 at a time.
  3. Record the number when it bends 5 mm or breaks.
  4. Strength score = pennies ÷ grams of plastic.
✅ Rubric (single-point)
Not yet: what to work onGoal (criteria)Beyond: what went further
Meets every limit (size, grams, time)
Test data written down for every version
Version 2 changed one thing because of the test
Triangles in the design (truss) carry the load
Safe making: adult runs the printer; designs credited

Learn it first: Lesson 7 · Lesson 10 · 🖨️ Starter model · Truss bridge project

For teachers · standards: MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-3, MS-ETS1-4 · 3-5-ETS1-3

A tool for a classmate

🎓 Effective Communicator🎓 Global Citizen

Ask a classmate about one small everyday task that is hard or slow (opening a pencil box, holding a page, carrying a bottle). Design a printed helper for it. This is a class helper, not a medical device.

Limits

  • Fits in 80 × 80 × 80 mm
  • No sharp edges or small parts that can come off
  • At most 20 g of PLA
  • You share no personal information about your classmate: only the task

Test plan

  1. Your classmate tries the helper 3 times.
  2. Time the task with and without it.
  3. Ask: what is one thing to change? Make version 2.
✅ Rubric (single-point)
Not yet: what to work onGoal (criteria)Beyond: what went further
Meets every limit (size, grams, time)
Test data written down for every version
Version 2 changed one thing because of the test
I asked, listened and changed the design because of the feedback
Safe making: adult runs the printer; designs credited

Learn it first: Lesson 10 · Lesson 5

For teachers · standards: MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2 · 7-8.CT.10 · 7-8.NSD.1

Phone or tablet stand

🎓 Creative Innovator🎓 Academically Prepared

Design a stand that holds a phone or a small tablet at a comfortable viewing angle (about 60–70°).

Limits

  • At most 25 g of PLA
  • No supports: design it to print flat
  • Measure the device thickness with calipers; add a 1 mm gap

Test plan

  1. Put the device in the stand. Tap the screen 20 times.
  2. Does it tip, slide or wobble? Record it.
  3. Measure the angle with the protractor model.
✅ Rubric (single-point)
Not yet: what to work onGoal (criteria)Beyond: what went further
Meets every limit (size, grams, time)
Test data written down for every version
Version 2 changed one thing because of the test
It holds steady at the planned angle
Safe making: adult runs the printer; designs credited

Learn it first: Lesson 4 · Lesson 7 · Lesson 8 · 🖨️ Starter model

For teachers · standards: MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-4 · 4-6.CT.10

Marble run piece that connects

🎓 Effective Communicator🎓 Critical Thinker

With your group, agree on one connector size. Each person designs a marble run piece; all pieces must connect.

Limits

  • Marble 16 mm: the channel is at least 20 mm wide
  • Connector: peg 8.0 mm, hole 8.4 mm (0.2 mm each side)
  • Slope 5° to 15°

Test plan

  1. Join all pieces. Roll 10 marbles.
  2. Count how many reach the end.
  3. Fix the joint where marbles fall out.
✅ Rubric (single-point)
Not yet: what to work onGoal (criteria)Beyond: what went further
Meets every limit (size, grams, time)
Test data written down for every version
Version 2 changed one thing because of the test
Our pieces follow the group's written connector rule
Safe making: adult runs the printer; designs credited

Learn it first: Lesson 8 · Lesson 10 · 🖨️ Starter model

For teachers · standards: MS-ETS1-2, MS-ETS1-3 · 7-8.DL.2

Fraction set for sevenths

🎓 Academically Prepared🎓 Critical Thinker

The gallery has fraction bars for halves to twelfths, but not sevenths. Design 7 pieces that line up exactly under the 160 mm whole bar.

Limits

  • Each piece 160 ÷ 7 ≈ 22.86 mm long; same 22 × 6 mm cross-section
  • Engraved label 1/7 at least 0.8 mm deep
  • Total length within 1 mm of 160 mm

Test plan

  1. Line up the 7 pieces under the whole bar.
  2. Measure the total with calipers or a ruler.
  3. Compare 3/7 with 1/2 using the halves set.
✅ Rubric (single-point)
Not yet: what to work onGoal (criteria)Beyond: what went further
Meets every limit (size, grams, time)
Test data written down for every version
Version 2 changed one thing because of the test
I can explain why each piece is 160 ÷ 7 mm
Safe making: adult runs the printer; designs credited

Learn it first: Lesson 4 · Lesson 12 · 🖨️ Starter model

For teachers · standards: 3-5-ETS1-1 · NYS Next Generation Math NY-3.NF, NY-4.NF (fractions) · 4-6.CT.1

Name tag you can read by touch

🎓 Global Citizen🎓 Effective Communicator

Design a tag with raised letters that a classmate can read with eyes closed.

Limits

  • Raised letters at least 8 mm tall and 1 mm high
  • Bold, simple letters; at most 5 g
  • Use your first name or initials only, nothing more

Test plan

  1. A classmate closes their eyes and reads it by touch.
  2. Count letters read right on the first try.
  3. Make the hardest letter bigger or bolder.
✅ Rubric (single-point)
Not yet: what to work onGoal (criteria)Beyond: what went further
Meets every limit (size, grams, time)
Test data written down for every version
Version 2 changed one thing because of the test
Every letter can be read by touch
Safe making: adult runs the printer; designs credited

Learn it first: Lesson 5 · Lesson 12 · 🖨️ Starter model

For teachers · standards: MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-4 · 7-8.NSD.1 (accessibility)

Cable clip for the Maker Lab desk

🎓 Critical Thinker🎓 Academically Prepared

Design a clip that holds 3 USB cables on the edge of a desk, using a snap or press fit.

Limits

  • Measure cable and desk edge with calipers
  • Clearance 0.2–0.3 mm per side for the fit
  • At most 10 g

Test plan

  1. Clip it on and off 20 times.
  2. Does it crack? Does it hold the cables?
  3. Change the gap by 0.1 mm and test again.
✅ Rubric (single-point)
Not yet: what to work onGoal (criteria)Beyond: what went further
Meets every limit (size, grams, time)
Test data written down for every version
Version 2 changed one thing because of the test
The fit holds without cracking after 20 tries
Safe making: adult runs the printer; designs credited

Learn it first: Lesson 4 · Lesson 8 · 🖨️ Starter model

For teachers · standards: MS-ETS1-4 · 7-8.NSD.3

Robot wheel that grips

🎓 Creative Innovator🎓 Critical Thinker

Change the gallery's robot wheel so it grips better on a smooth floor and still fits the motor shaft.

Limits

  • Keep the shaft hole size that fits your motor (measure it)
  • Diameter 50–70 mm
  • At most 20 g each

Test plan

  1. Push the robot 1 m on a smooth floor; count slips.
  2. Compare tread patterns or a rubber-band tire.
  3. Keep the version with the fewest slips.
✅ Rubric (single-point)
Not yet: what to work onGoal (criteria)Beyond: what went further
Meets every limit (size, grams, time)
Test data written down for every version
Version 2 changed one thing because of the test
I changed one thing per version and recorded the data
Safe making: adult runs the printer; designs credited

Learn it first: Lesson 8 · Lesson 10 · 🖨️ Starter model

For teachers · standards: MS-ETS1-3, MS-ETS1-4 · HS-ETS1-3 · 7-8.NSD.2

Shake-table tower

🎓 Critical Thinker🎓 Reflective and Future Focused

Design a tower at least 150 mm tall that stays standing on a tray you shake for 10 seconds.

Limits

  • Height at least 150 mm; footprint at most 60 × 60 mm
  • At most 30 g
  • No glue to the tray

Test plan

  1. Shake the tray side to side 2 times per second for 10 s.
  2. Record: stands, leans, or falls.
  3. Try a wider base or a lower center of mass.
✅ Rubric (single-point)
Not yet: what to work onGoal (criteria)Beyond: what went further
Meets every limit (size, grams, time)
Test data written down for every version
Version 2 changed one thing because of the test
I can explain why my tower stayed up (or what I changed)
Safe making: adult runs the printer; designs credited

Learn it first: Lesson 7 · Lesson 10 · 🖨️ Starter model

For teachers · standards: MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-3 · HS-ETS1-2

Penny boat

🎓 Academically Prepared🎓 Critical Thinker

Design a boat that floats in a tub and carries as many pennies as possible.

Limits

  • At most 10 g of PLA
  • Fits in 100 × 60 × 40 mm
  • Walls at least 1.2 mm so it does not leak

Test plan

  1. Float it. Add pennies one at a time.
  2. Record the count before water comes in.
  3. Improve the shape, not only the size.
✅ Rubric (single-point)
Not yet: what to work onGoal (criteria)Beyond: what went further
Meets every limit (size, grams, time)
Test data written down for every version
Version 2 changed one thing because of the test
I used volume and density to explain my result
Safe making: adult runs the printer; designs credited

Learn it first: Lesson 12 · Lesson 10 · 🖨️ Starter model

For teachers · standards: MS-ETS1-4 · MS-PS1 connection (density)

Gear ratio 3 : 1

🎓 Academically Prepared🎓 Critical Thinker

Using the gallery gears as a guide (module 2.5 mm), design a pair where the small gear turns 3 times for each turn of the big one.

Limits

  • Teeth: for example 36 and 12
  • Center distance = 2.5 × (36 + 12) ÷ 2 = 60 mm
  • Holes 0.4 mm bigger than the pegs

Test plan

  1. Mark one tooth on each gear.
  2. Turn the big gear once; count the small gear's turns.
  3. Do they jam or skip? Adjust the distance.
✅ Rubric (single-point)
Not yet: what to work onGoal (criteria)Beyond: what went further
Meets every limit (size, grams, time)
Test data written down for every version
Version 2 changed one thing because of the test
The measured ratio matches 3 : 1
Safe making: adult runs the printer; designs credited

Learn it first: Lesson 8 · Lesson 5 · 🖨️ Starter model

For teachers · standards: MS-ETS1-4 · NYS Next Generation Math NY-6.RP.1, NY-6.RP.3 (ratios) · 9-12.CT.1

Sun time vs clock time

🎓 Academically Prepared🎓 Reflective and Future Focused

Print the Long Island sundial, set it up, and compare it with a clock three times in one day.

Limits

  • Gnomon points to true north (not magnetic north)
  • Dial level (use a phone level app with an adult or a marble)
  • Readings at three different times

Test plan

  1. Write sundial time and clock time each time.
  2. Find the difference.
  3. Explain it: daylight saving time, time zones, the season.
✅ Rubric (single-point)
Not yet: what to work onGoal (criteria)Beyond: what went further
Meets every limit (size, grams, time)
Test data written down for every version
Version 2 changed one thing because of the test
I explained at least one reason for the difference
Safe making: adult runs the printer; designs credited

Learn it first: Lesson 10 · 🖨️ Starter model

For teachers · standards: MS-ESS1-1 connection (Sun-Earth patterns) · teacher check

Your own ancient-style artifact

🎓 Global Citizen🎓 Effective Communicator

Design your own small tablet with wedge-shaped marks inspired by cuneiform, telling a short message in a code you invent. Your design, not a copy of a museum object.

Limits

  • At most 70 × 50 × 8 mm
  • Marks at least 1 mm deep and 1.2 mm wide
  • A key that explains your code

Test plan

  1. A classmate decodes your message with the key.
  2. Count words decoded right.
  3. Make unclear marks deeper or bigger.
✅ Rubric (single-point)
Not yet: what to work onGoal (criteria)Beyond: what went further
Meets every limit (size, grams, time)
Test data written down for every version
Version 2 changed one thing because of the test
My classmate decoded the message with my key
Safe making: adult runs the printer; designs credited

Learn it first: Lesson 5 · Lesson 11 · 🖨️ Starter model

For teachers · standards: NYS Social Studies Framework 6.3 (early river valley civilizations: writing) · teacher check · 7-8.DL.4

Self-watering planter

🎓 Global Citizen🎓 Reflective and Future Focused

Design a small planter with a water reservoir that keeps soil moist for a week.

Limits

  • Fits in 100 × 100 × 100 mm
  • Reservoir you can refill and see
  • Walls at least 1.6 mm, no leaks

Test plan

  1. Plant a seed. Fill the reservoir once.
  2. Check the soil each school day for a week.
  3. Record water level and plant height.
✅ Rubric (single-point)
Not yet: what to work onGoal (criteria)Beyond: what went further
Meets every limit (size, grams, time)
Test data written down for every version
Version 2 changed one thing because of the test
I collected data every day and used it to improve
Safe making: adult runs the printer; designs credited

Learn it first: Lesson 10 · Lesson 12 · 🖨️ Starter model

For teachers · standards: 3-5-ETS1-3 · MS-ETS1-4 · MS-LS1-5 connection (growth)

How to use the rubric

The middle column is the goal. Write what still needs work on the left and what went further on the right. It is for feedback and self-checks, not for a grade.

Teacher check: standards codes were checked on NYSED pages on Nov 14, 2026 (NYSSLS Engineering Design 3-5-ETS1, MS-ETS1, HS-ETS1; NYS Computer Science and Digital Fluency). Codes marked “connection” relate the challenge to a topic; they are not the main target.

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