To help inspire and cultivate maker education, Autodesk launched the Make it Real Challenge. The challenge encourages students and educators to engage their school and community in a conversation around maker education with an incentive of gaining new tools for making. Now in its second year, we have expanded the program to provide four schools with makerspaces.

Each grand prize winner gets a makerspace including an Ultimaker 3 3D Printer, Dremel DigiLab Laser Cutter, and ten Chromebooks. In total, Autodesk is giving away over $70,000 in prizes. In addition to the hardware, all the schools – in fact all students, educators, and educational institutions around the world – have free access to Autodesk software and maker education resources. 

Find out how to start your own makerspace and learn more about designing and making here.

We received a number of high–quality entries, which demonstrated the innovative ways that schools are using making to enhance learning. And now we’re pleased to share the grand prize winners of this year’s Autodesk Make It Real Contest and their inspiring video submissions: 

Jim Bridger Middle School, North Las Vegas, NV – With their “super maker teacher” leading the way, Jim Bridger Middle School students creatively showed the many ways that they would use the prize tools to enhance their learning. 

Paradise Intermediate School, Paradise, CA – The educators and students at Paradise Intermediate demonstrated their strength and incredible maker mindset by making with what they have available. 

Brighton High School, Brighton, MA – Students at Brighton High School represented the maker spirit as they showed us their design thinking process in their video and then separately through an in–depth, student-led discussion at their school around the benefits of making. 

Killingly Intermediate School, Killingly CT — Tapping into the nostalgia of Ferris Bueller, the staff and students at Killingly Intermediate School demonstrated how they are currently making with common objects like cardboard, and how the prize tools would help foster a learning environment no one would want to skip. 

In addition, Autodesk has awarded eight schools an honorable mention prize of ten Chromebooks each. 

• Boston Latin Academy, Boston, MA 
• CLK Elementary School, Calumet, MI 
• Dr. W. J. Creel Elementary School, Melbourne, FL 
• Gonzales Middle School, Gonzales, LA 
• Joseph P Tynan Elementary School, Boston, MA 
• Mother Caroline Academy, Dorchester, MA 
• Pittsburgh Langley K-8, Pittsburgh, PA 
• Trenton High School, Trenton, Ontario 

There’s more detail, including their compelling video submissions, for each of these schools over on our Tinkercad blog here and here.

We can’t wait to see what the incredible and ambitious students at all 12 of these schools design and make at their school. We look forward to the continued dialogue around maker education and the benefits of engaging students in a hands-on experience to achieve learning outcomes.