Laser engravers have gained traction in educational settings for their ability to transform digital designs into physical creations. It marries technology with hands-on learning across a variety of subjects, including art, design, engineering, and even history. These machines let students explore their creativity through technology, helping them build skills that are both fun and useful in the real world. 

These machines use laser beams to create permanent, precise designs on various materials, including wood, glass, metal, and plastic. They’re incredibly precise, allowing you to create beautifully intricate designs for various uses.  

Whether you’re a teacher looking for engaging classroom projects or a school administrator looking into laser engraving for various school-related projects, a laser engraver can be a fantastic addition to your collection. There’s no end to the creative potential, whether you want to revamp the school with new signs or create branded merch to sell at school events. 

Here are a few cool laser engraving projects students may enjoy:

1. Personalized Name Tag

While personalized name tags aren’t the most exciting option on this list, they make a great starter project. It’s simple and relatively quick but gives your students the chance to tinker with the machine and familiarize themselves with how everything works. 

Now, that said, the name tag doesn’t have to be boring. Let your students get creative with different fonts, graphics, and layouts, using vector-based design software to develop their tags. Once they’re done, use the tags for school events, science fairs, or even to just label items and belongings in the classroom. It’s the perfect starter project that is both approachable and practical. 

2. Customized Key Chains

Custom keychains are similar to name tags in that they’re 100% beginner-friendly while leaving plenty of room for creativity. Let your students craft keychains with their favorite quotes, initials, or logos. Let them tinker with different materials, such as leather, wood, or acrylic, if you have the materials.

This project is both fun and easy, making it a great first project, especially for younger students new to laser engraving. Since the finished product is fairly small, they don’t take too long to produce. 

If you want to take things to the next level, let your students create a custom keychain as a gift for a family or friend (this project is an excellent choice around the holidays). 

3. Engraved Wooden Coasters

As your students become more familiar with the laser engraver and vector design software, work up to wooden coasters. These can be a bit challenging for newbies, especially if you go with more intricate patterns, but it’s a good fit for students with a bit more experience. 

Since wooden coasters are bigger than name tags and keychains, there’s more room for more intricate patterns, logos, or even custom artwork. This project encourages your students to think about the balance between aesthetics and functionality. Plus, since the coasters will need sanding and sealing to become fully functional and durable, this is a great time to integrate a lesson about woodworking. 

You could even tie this project into a lesson about material science or entrepreneurship, especially since the engraved coasters can be sold at school fundraisers. 

4. Classroom Signage

While creating keychains, coasters, and other custom projects your students can take home is both fun and rewarding, you can also go a more functional and school-centric route. Have your students engrave classroom signs, or, if you’re feeling motivated, revamp the signs for the entire school. 

Engrave the signs on wood, acrylic, or plastic sheets, allowing your students to experiment with different fonts and graphics to ensure the signs are visually appealing. Challenge them to stick to the same theme to keep things cohesive across the entire school, tying elements of problem-solving and teamwork into the lesson. 

Or, let them get creative and pick different themes for different parts of the classroom or school. You could stick to the same general theme, letting students choose the specifics. For example, the umbrella theme might be Disney- or Western-based, with each area of the school or classroom featuring different characters or cowpoke-themed elements. 

5. Laser-Cut Puzzle Sets

Puzzle sets are a bit more challenging, making these projects a great fit for older students who are ready to take on more complex design tasks. Precision is a must to ensure the pieces fit together perfectly, so this project is no easy feat. Using a laser engraver, your students can create customized puzzles by engraving and cutting interlocking pieces from wood, cardboard, or acrylic. 

The puzzles could feature educational tools, such as geography maps, or purely for entertainment, complete with custom artwork. If you go the educational route, you could incorporate the finished puzzles into lessons on geometry, design, or even psychology since the puzzles require critical thinking and spatial awareness. 

6. Engraved Jewelry

If you teach a fashion, sewing, or accessory design class, incorporate the engraver into a lesson on engraved jewelry. Use the machine to create custom pendants, earrings, or bracelets from materials like leather, acrylic, or even thin sheets of wood. 

Once engraved, have your students assemble the pieces into wearable jewelry. You won’t need much for this—simple jewelry-making supplies will do.

This project is great for encouraging attention to detail while introducing product design. It’s hands-on, with a tactile element that demands focus and precision to ensure a beautiful result.  

If you want to incorporate additional concepts, like branding, consumer products, market trends, and other entrepreneurship topics, this project is a great time to do it!

7. 3D Model Engravings

Engravers aren’t only capable of creating pretty jewelry, keychains, and coasters—they can also be handy tools in creating 3D model engravings. Laser engravers can help communicate lessons in architecture or engineering, encouraging students to use critical thinking skills while cutting parts for models of buildings, bridges, or even vehicles. 

Once all pieces are cut and engraved, the sheets can be assembled into a 3D structure. Since each piece must be cut to precise measurements to ensure a snug fit, this project is excellent for emphasizing the importance of precise measurements and technical drawing. It can also better explain lessons on prototyping and scale modeling. 

8. Engraved Phone Stands

Laser-engraved phone stands are another intriguing project that combines functionality with style. Let your students craft custom stands from acrylic or wood, designing each piece to match specific aesthetic preferences. 

Incorporate a math and engineering aspect by having your students craft the stands to match their phones’ specific measurements. Encourage them to think about ergonomics and product design, ensuring the final product not only looks good but serves a practical purpose. 

9. Personalized School Supplies

If you’re searching for free laser engraving projects, this one might be a great fit. If your budget doesn’t allow for elaborate projects with fancy materials, have your students practice engraving on their own school supplies. This is a great way to teach them how to use engravers (and the many lessons that can go with them) without having to purchase substantial amounts of material. Plus, it allows them to personalize their own stuff, which can be an appealing factor. 

Have your students craft designs to engrave on their pencil cases, rulers, notebooks, and similar items, allowing them to incorporate different themes, names, or motivational quotes. Tie the project into discussions about personalization in product design or the importance of branding.

10. School Merchandise

Many of the projects on this list can be tweaked to create school merchandise that can be sold at fundraisers and events, such as plays or sports games. Have your students create themed designs for various products you can sell at those events.

You might engrave the school mascot onto keychains, wooden coasters, school supplies, or even phone stands. Or, stick to simple, classy designs that can still be sold at those events (but aren’t school-themed), such as jewelry, holiday-themed coasters, or personalized keychains. 

These projects can be an excellent way to teach lessons about entrepreneurship, design, engineering, and much more while making sellable items that benefit the school!

Create Beautiful Laser-Engraved Products With AGC Education

Laser engraving opens up a world of creative possibilities for students. It combines the best of technical skills with artistic expression while also leaving room for all sorts of lessons on everything from entrepreneurship to fashion design to engineering. Whether you choose to have your students make personalized keychains, design intricate puzzles, or build model structures, these projects provide hands-on learning opportunities that are both fun and educational. 
If you’re ready to incorporate laser engraving projects into your classroom or school, AGC Education has the equipment and materials you’ll need. Our Laser Lab Desktop Laser Engraver and Cutter is designed specifically for schools, and our wide range of laser engraving supplies is ready to help you get started. Contact us today to get a quote.