Making a Difference Through STEAM at Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls

How purpose-driven design and 3D printing empower students to become confident creators

At Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls in New Jersey, STEAM education is rooted in a simple but powerful belief: learning should prepare students not just for academic success, but for meaningful contribution to the world around them.

That belief shapes how STEAM is taught, how projects are designed, and how technology is used throughout the school. Rather than treating tools like 3D printers as isolated pieces of equipment, Ma’ayanot integrates them into a broader philosophy centered on empathy, creativity, and real-world impact.

Designing With Purpose

For Reyce Krause, Director of STEAM Curriculum and Makerspace Lead, purpose is the foundation of the program.“For our STEAM department, not only do we want our students to be well-versed in all types of subjects, but we want them to give back… and leave their mark.”

That mindset led to the creation of Making a Difference at Ma’ayanot, a program that connects students with schools serving children with special needs and visual impairments. Students don’t begin with a preset assignment. Instead, they begin by listening.

They meet therapists. They meet the children. They learn about individual needs and challenges. From there, students define a problem and design a solution—often combining 3D printing, electronics, coding, and iterative design.

“We reached out and said, ‘We have students that know how to 3D print, know how to code… can we come meet your children and build something for them?’”

When students realize their work will directly impact someone else, the learning experience changes.

“A funny thing happens when you give students an assignment and tell them, ‘We need you… we need you to make something for a child.’ They puff up and become proficient… they want to learn more because they realize they can make a difference in [a] child’s life.”

A Makerspace That Turns Exploration Into Innovation

Ma’ayanot’s makerspace is intentionally designed to be both inviting and purposeful—a space where curiosity leads to deeper learning and ideas are developed through hands-on experience. Students don’t just visit the makerspace for a single project; they return again and again to iterate, refine, and improve their work.

Equipped with UltiMaker 3D printers, the makerspace supports sustained use across STEAM classes and programs. Printers run throughout the day as students actively track their progress and eagerly check in on their designs.

“We have a slew of printers because these printers are running all the time… when we start running projects, the girls are constantly coming in between classes asking, ‘Is it done yet? Is it finished yet?” — Reyce Krause, Director of STEAM Curriculum

For school leadership, the makerspace represents far more than a room filled with tools. It is a space where students feel invited to explore, take risks, and engage deeply with their learning. The open-ended nature of the environment encourages experimentation and collaboration, helping students build confidence as they test ideas and learn from failure.

As students spend more time designing, prototyping, and refining their work, a noticeable shift begins to take place. Rather than seeing technology as something to consume or follow, students start to view it as something they can actively shape. Through repeated exposure to design challenges and real-world applications, they develop a sense of ownership over both the tools and the outcomes.

“Students in general are technology consumers… and we want them to be technology innovators.” — Gila Stein, STEAM Department Chair

By giving students consistent access to professional-grade tools and the time to explore ideas fully, Ma’ayanot’s makerspace creates a bridge between imagination and execution. The result is an environment where curiosity leads naturally to creation—and where exploration becomes a pathway to innovation.

Learning Through Empathy and Iteration

At the center of Making a Difference at Ma’ayanot is a commitment to human-centered design. Rather than designing hypothetical projects, students work on real solutions for real people.

For one partnership, students collaborated with therapists and educators to design an interactive toy for a child with visual impairments. The project required students to move beyond aesthetics and think deeply about accessibility, sensory engagement, and individual needs. Every decision—from materials and colors to electronics and sound—was informed by direct conversations with professionals and the child the toy was intended for.

Students began by learning about the child’s abilities and preferences, then sketched ideas, prototyped components, and iterated on their designs using 3D printing and electronics. The final project combined a custom 3D-printed enclosure with internal components such as an Arduino microcontroller, speaker, power source, and switches, creating an interactive experience tailored specifically for its user. [Watch the video above to see what students created].

Making Ideas Real

Through 3D printing, electronics, and human-centered design, students at Ma’ayanot learn that their ideas have value—and that they have the power to bring those ideas into the world.

“Anything’s possible. Now my ideas aren’t just inside of me… they can become real.” — Student, STEAM Program

“Everyone has their spark and their passion, and no matter what you’re interested in, you can bring it into 3D printing and STEAM… and make your dreams come to life.”