Introduction: 11 Ways to Cut and Connect Cardboard

About: Aaron Maurer is currently serving as STEM Lead for the Mississippi Bend AEA and the Founder of a non profit called 212 STEAM Labs, Inc. Prior to this he served as an Instructional Coach for Bettendorf Middle S…

I created this display of 11 techniques for cardboard for an upcoming two day Make Yourself Into a Maker Workshop I run for educators. One of the days is a challenge to create something out of cardboard that you can use in your classroom.

After running the workshop a few times I realized that it might be good to share some techniques with educators so that they can learn themselves as well as empower students. As an educator this can be a mini maker lesson in itself having students work through the techniques. I shared 11 and I am sure there are many more so perhaps in the future I will develop more techniques, but these are the ones I use most often.

I also have a YouTube video where I demo and teach each technique in hopes that it helps you learn and also provides another resource for your makerspace.

Finally, I also included down below the files for the labels I made in case you want to use them. These are in .lbx format so you will need a label printer.


Here is my folder of the 11 labels I used for the display. I printed them out one of my go to tools of all time, the Brother Label Printer. If you do anything with these materials, then please let me know. I would love to see students(adults and kids) in action learning. The more the we share, the more we empower one another!

Step 1: Gather Tools

Grab the tools that you need. I love my Zip Snip and Canary Knife, and Boxcutters, but in a pinch the MakeDo tool and scissors also work.

Step 2: Examples 1-6

Grab some scrap cardboard and give these a try. Leave a comment showcasing your work and how you could use these techniques into your builds?

Step 3: Example 7-11

Grab some scrap cardboard and give these a try. Leave a comment showcasing your work and how you could use these techniques into your builds?

Step 4: Video Guide

If you need to watch how I cut and connect, then this video will help you see the process.