Maker programs
for libraries and classrooms
From design
to build
in one session.
Free, ready-to-use design projects for libraries, makerspaces, classrooms, and after-school programs. Your group designs in the first half hour, then sends their own file to your laser or printer. They learn design by making real decisions, not by fighting a complicated CAD program. No software to install, no sign-ins.
Why Designer Bee
Why Designer Bee works for programs
Built for first-time makers
Every project starts from a preset that already looks good. Your patrons, students, or kids can succeed in their first session, no failed builds, no frustration.
No accounts, no personal data
Everything runs in the browser. No student data, no personal info, and files never leave the device. Anonymous usage stats only, designed with library privacy standards in mind.
Works with the machines you already have
Exports clean SVG and STL files for any laser cutter, 3D printer, or vinyl cutter. Glowforge, xTool, Bambu, Prusa, Cricut: all supported.
In practice
Use Designer Bee in your program
Library workshops
Run a one-hour program where every patron leaves with a build-ready file for a clock, box, or keychain.
See the toolsClassroom STEM units
Pair Designer Bee tools with lessons on geometry, design thinking, or engineering: students design, you facilitate.
See the toolsAfter-school maker clubs
Kids pick a project each week, customize, and take home something they made themselves.
See the tools
Built by a makerspace educator, for librarians.
Designer Bee started in Ebrahim Montazeri's own workshops. An MLIS and makerspace educator in Northern Virginia, he kept watching first-time makers give up at the design step, before anything ever reached the laser or the printer. So he built the step nobody gives up on: pick a project, make it yours, and walk out with something you designed. Every project on this site is shaped by what actually works in real workshops with real beginners.
Read more about Ebrahim
For story time
A picture book for your reading corner
“DeeBee and Milo Climb the Hill” is a picture book about kindness and the loads we can’t see, starring the Designer Bee mascot. Read it aloud on screen or print the PDF for your classroom. Free to share for library and educational use.
Resources
Resources for educators
Free for everyone, always
No accounts, no upsells, no hidden tiers.
Share with colleagues
Link to designerbee.build or to specific tools, no signup required for them either.
Request a workshop
Ebrahim runs in-person and virtual design thinking workshops for libraries and makerspaces in the DC metro area and beyond. Get in touch.
Ready to bring Designer Bee to your program?
Browse the project library, try a tool yourself, and see if it fits your next workshop.