Bambu Lab Campus Ambassador Teaches 3D Printing to Kids in Summer STEM Series

Emma Albert spent her summer not in a typical internship, but in a Boys & Girls Club with a bag of filament and a Bambu Lab A1 Mini. The fourth-year mechanical engineering student at Michigan Technological University designed a monthly workshop series called the Summer STEM Series, bringing live 3D printing to kids from second grade through high school.

The format was simple: give the students a challenge, let them design and print something, then race or test it. Balloon car races connected print infill to Newton's First Law. A marble run competition had teams racing against a live print job on the A1 Mini. Fidget clicker builds broke down how everyday toys are assembled layer by layer.

Albert wanted the sessions to feel like play, not a lecture. The shift in the room was immediate, she said. Once the students realized the printer could turn their sketches into physical objects, questions started flowing: How fast can it go? What happens if I change this setting? How do I design my own toy?

Every student took home a finished project they built from scratch. Albert also donated a complete marble run set to the club so the activity could continue after the series ended.

The workshops used real Bambu Lab hardware, which kept the experience authentic. The A1 Mini's fast print times meant students could see their ideas realized within a single session, not wait overnight. That immediacy is hard to replicate with slower machines.

Club staff have already asked Albert to come back. The invitation is a good signal that the approach worked: when engineering feels accessible and fun, kids do not just participate. They ask for more.