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FundedYouth Docs

Courses

This is where you’ll find every class FundedYouth offers right now. We have five courses that teach real skills using real tools — the same ones professional makers, designers, engineers, and game developers use every day.

You don’t need any experience to start. You just need to be curious.

How Our Courses Work

Section titled “How Our Courses Work”

Every FundedYouth course follows the same simple shape:

  • It’s in person at FundedYouth (we provide everything — computers, printers, materials)
  • It’s one hour per class (some courses have just one class, others have two or three)
  • It teaches real software that’s free to use at home afterward
  • It ends with something you made yourself — a print, a design, or a game
  • A badge appears on your profile when you finish

You enroll on the portal (it’s free), then sign up for an in-person session.

The Pathways

Section titled “The Pathways”

Courses group into pathways — recommended orders to take them in. Each course in a pathway builds on the one before it.

3D Printing Pathway

Section titled “3D Printing Pathway”

Learn to take a 3D model and turn it into a real physical object. This is the most popular pathway at FundedYouth.

CAD and Product Design Pathway

Section titled “CAD and Product Design Pathway”

Learn to design your own 3D models from scratch — no downloading other people’s work.

Coding and Logic Pathway

Section titled “Coding and Logic Pathway”

Learn the building blocks of all programming, no typing required.

Capstone

Section titled “Capstone”

The big one. Combine design and printing to invent your own original product.

  • MVP1 — Minimum Viable Product — Multiple sessions. Take an idea from a paper sketch to a working printed prototype. Then redesign it and print it again, like a real product designer. Requires 3DM1 and 3DP2 (which itself requires 3DP1).

Which Course Should I Start With?

Section titled “Which Course Should I Start With?”

Pick based on what sounds most exciting:

If you want to…Start with
Print things (toys, gadgets, models from the internet)3DP1
Design your own things to print3DM1
Make a game with characters that moveCDE1
Invent a real product of your ownTake 3DM1 and the full printing path 3DP1 → 3DP2, then MVP1

Most students take 3DP1 + 3DM1 together as a great starting combination — one teaches you to print, the other teaches you to design.

Course Types Explained

Section titled “Course Types Explained”

You’ll see one of these badges on each course:

  • Course — a bigger project that runs across several sessions (like MVP1)
  • Class — a focused 1-hour in-person class (like 3DP1, 3DP2, 3DM1, CDE1)
  • Workshop — a special one-off topic (we’ll add more of these over time)

How Enrollment Works

Section titled “How Enrollment Works”

It’s a three-step process:

  1. Enroll in the course on the portal. This is free — it just adds the course to your “My Courses” list so you can track your progress.
  2. Register for a session. Open the Sessions menu and pick an in-person date that works for you. Sessions may cost FYBIT Credits depending on which course it is.
  3. Show up and learn. Your instructor will check you in, teach you, and (when you finish) mark the course Completed in your portal — which unlocks the next course in the pathway and adds your badge.

What If I’m a Parent?

Section titled “What If I’m a Parent?”

Welcome! Here’s the quick version:

  • All courses are in person at FundedYouth in San Diego County
  • Ages 8 and up for most courses; MVP1 works best for 10+
  • Each in-person session is 1 hour
  • Your kid will leave with something they made themselves
  • Basic Members get the first four courses free (3DP1, 3DP2, 3DM1, CDE1)
  • All software we teach is free to use at home

For signup help (including the clever trick for signing up multiple kids with one email), see the Get Started guide.

Where to Go Next

Section titled “Where to Go Next”