Manufacturing is making a comeback in the United States, according to some. If that’s true, it’s partly because higher education has been helping students learn design and prototyping work. As manufacturing, making and innovation converge in education, 3D printing is becoming more crucial to curriculums. As the examples in this paper demonstrate, giving students access to 3D printers turns them into thinkers, designers and builders — the kinds of disciplines that form the heart of higher education in the 21st century.