Tabletop Zoo

I teach at Mack Middle School in Walton, NY. Two of my coworkers and I created this Tabletop Zoo project as a way to introduce our middle schoolers (Grades 6-8) to Tinkercad and the equipment in our school's Maker Space which includes 3D Printers, Cricut Makers and a Glowforge. We were inspired by the game Zoo Tycoon and thought doing a project focused on wild animals would get our students highly engaged, which it did!

For this project, students research a zoo animal. They then create a figure of their animal in Tinkercad to be 3D printed. Finally, they make a mockup of an enclosure for their animal in Tinkercad and make it using a variety of materials. At the end of the project, the students put their enclosures together to form a tabletop zoo. 

My 6th grade students worked on this project over the course of a 10 week class. Our 7th and 8th graders didn't need quite as long to complete it and were able to do some of the extension activities listed at the end.

• Tinkercad
• 3D Printer with filament, Cricut & Glowforge (if you have access to them)
• Cardboard, wood and/or MDF
• Paint and brushes
• Glue, hot glue
• Cardstock/paper
• Arts & Crafts Supplies: clay/model magic, pipe cleaners, pompoms, paper tubes, popsicle sticks, Styrofoam, aluminum foil, toothpicks, cotton balls, etc.

To hook the students and help them see what a good zoo enclosure should look like, have the students check out the San Diego Zoo's Live Cams. We had our students select 3 cams to view for 10 minutes each. After viewing a cam, the students answered the following prompts:

• In at least 2 sentences, describe the habitat/enclosure you viewed for this animal.
• In at least 2 sentences, describe what you saw the animal doing.

Next, the students should select an animal for their project. We had our students work in groups of 2 or 3. They picked their animals from the National Geographic Kids Animals website, as it provides a great starting place for researching their animal. Just make sure each student/group picks a different animal so your zoo will be more interesting!

Once the students have selected their animals, they should research them and the habitat where they live. We provided our students with the packet below to help guide their research. Some great websites to share with your students are:

• National Geographic Kids: Animals
• Animals | San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants
• Animals | Cincinnati Zoo
• WWF | Species List
• Habitats | San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants
• UCMP The World's Biomes

Once the students have finished researching their animals, they should design a sign for their enclosure to inform zoo guests about their animal. We had our students make their signs in Google Slides.

The sign should include the following information about the animal:

• Animal Name
• Scientific Name
• Average Life Span
• Size
• Weight
• Continent(s) It Lives On
• Habitat
• Diet
• 1 Fun Fact
• At Least One Picture Of The Animal

It should also be colorful and creative to draw zoo guests’ attention! 

Print the signs when done.

Next the students should design a 3D figure of their animal in Tinkercad. Since 3D design was new to our students, we had them start by looking at pictures of their animals and thinking about what basic Tinkercad shapes they could use to make the different parts so that their animals would look as realistic as possible. The students sketched out their ideas so they had a game plan when beginning their design in Tinkercad. (See the horse example in the pictures above.)

Once the students finish their designs in Tinkercad, print them on a 3D printer. We used filament in the color we had that was closest to the animal's main color and had the students use acrylic paint to add other colors/details once printed.

Before the students start building their enclosures for their 3D printed animals, have them plan them out.

Start by showing the students this video clip that goes over the elements of a habitat: food, water, shelter and space. Using their research, have the students brainstorm what their enclosure will need to keep their animal happy and healthy. We had our students make a list and a picture board in Google Slides.

After brainstorming, share the following required elements for their enclosure with the students and have them add to/adjust their plan if needed.

• Fence/Wall
• Ground
• Feeder/Trough
• Water Source
• Shelter

Once the students have finished planning their enclosure, they should use Tinkercad to make a mockup of what it will look like. We had our students switch the measurement settings to inches and change the size of the workplane to the measurements of the wood board we provided them as a base (12x19 inches). This helped the students with sizing when making their physical enclosures.

Once the students finish mocking up their enclosures, they are ready to build the real things! We had our students start by painting the ground cover on their wood bases. They then used the Glowforge, Cricuts and other craft supplies (ex. Model Magic, pipe cleaners, pompoms, etc.) to bring their mockups to life!

Once the students have finished building their enclosures, they should add their 3D printed animals to the exhibit! Push some tables together and place the students' enclosures all together on top. Hang each enclosure’s sign and your Tabletop Zoo is complete! All that's left to do is hold your grand opening!

If you have additional time you can also have your students:

• Make a Zoo Sign/Logo
• Make buildings found at a zoo (ex. food stands, a gift shop, ticket booth, etc.)
• Design souvenirs
• Create a commercial/fliers for your grand opening
• Build a toy to entertain your animal

Our students had a blast with this project. We hope yours do too!