In 8th grade science, we are studying plate tectonics and earth features, so earthquakes come up. I was having them research the idea of earthquake resistant design...and some were doing it, but most were not. I know I wanted them to build...but pandemic. After some discussions with other teachers, we decided we could do it safely. So I needed a shake table (the school has one, but the other teacher wants to do it also and I dont want to go up & down stairs to share). I built 2.

materials to make 2
2 - 3/4" pvc (10' ; 8' would work)
8 - elbows (10 pack)
16 - 3/16" x 2" eye bolts (nut included)
16 - s-hooks
rubber bands or springs
2 - 12"x12" board
marbles
round plastic ring (top from frosting can or margarine tub)

I cut the PVC into 20" pieces (8)
I drilled a 3/16" hole, 3 inches away from midpoint on either side for each piece (2 holes per piece) all the way through both sides of the pvc
I cut boards to 12"x12". I had some scrap, 3/4" mdf.
I am wondering in 1/4" would be "better"?
I wouldnt go thicker than 3/4"
I drilled 2 holes per edge, about 4 inches from center on the side, about 3/4" in from edge
I wanted the bands/springs to NOT be perpendicular to board/pvc (which is why on pvc holes are 3" from center and boards 4" from center)

To assemble
- feed the eye bolts through the holes in the 20" pvc pipes
- attach (4) 20" pieces and (4) elbows to make a "square"
- thread rubber bands through the holes in the board and loop through itself.
- if the eyebolts are facing "in" , use s-hooks to attach rubber bands to eyebolts
You can rotate the PVC so the eyebolts are up, or even pointing outwards. In this case you do not need the s-hooks
- put marbles in the plastic top, slide underneath board to the center. This keeps it off the table, counter and reduces friction. This is especially important if using rubber bands as they would be touching the table/counter.

With mine, if you pull the board sideways, then release it, it shakes well at first but dies quickly. I wonder if springs work make shaking last longer since they have a push AND a pull.
Pulling a corner diagonally, the vibrations last longer. 
They also last longer if you twist a corner, then release.
A couple of students just did the shaking manually, literally shaking the shake table.
That worked fine.

Not everybody sees them, but most know what they are.
They could be a good #MakerEd #MakerCenteredLearning project because there are many things that you can talk about as you make them. The learning is in the discussions you have. Both sides of the brain are activated while making things, opening up better conversations. And there are a great variety of ways to “make” them. ​

Do you have design software like Inkscape (free), Illustrator, CorelDraw, Lightburn?
​You can obviously design snowflakes using these. 

I have written a long Google Doc tutorial {https://bit.ly/SnowflakeTutorial }  about 12 of these ways. I did not do Inkscape or Illustrator, because I do not know them well. I did a couple of videos about Python turtle art, Lightburn, and CorelDraw... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLo6W7Aw8EPRDn0mS1HywhnHPtJPF3YKKY 

I think a craft cutter is one tool that every school and makerspace should have a couple of. They are a relatively inexpensive foray into digital design where measurements matter. You can cut paper, cardstock, food box cardboard and vinyl (stickers, window clings, iron ons).
I have a Cricut which came with their Design Space Software. If you have a Cameo, I assume you use Silhouette Studio, which has a basic free version, then paid upgrade versions.
The steps should be similar...maybe the tools have different names.

Silhouette Garden https://silhouettegarden.com/ and Flaticon https://www.flaticon.com/ are great sites to get free and copyright free icons to use for projects. Usually they just want attribution. Silhouette Garden gives you a zip file with svg, png, jpg, eps, and dxf formats ; Flaticon has png & svg formats.

1) Upload a pumpkin svg (or whatever shapes) to your software
2) Import it/them into your project
3) Find these tools Weld, Slice , Group.

Ring to Hang:
1) Make 2 circles, one smaller, put them on top of each other
2) Select both and click Slice
3) Grab the outer ring and move it onto the pumpkin
4) Select the ring and the pumpkin and click Weld
5) Delete the two smaller circles

Face Carving
1) Pick a shape for an eye, size it and put it into place
2) Select the eye and the pumpkin then click Slice
3) The pumpkin now has a hole in it and there are two "slices" the shape of the eye that you can delete.
Slice only works with TWO objects, so you have to do each feature one at a time.
Repeat those steps with the other features you want to cut out

Add Ons
If you want to add on to your pumpkin -- arms, wings, hats ...
Bring in another SVG
Attach it to the pumpkin
Select both
click Weld
Weld works with multiple items, so you can weld them all at once