I think all schools should have a couple of Cricut/Silhouette cutters. They get us started into digital creation with a relatively affordable price range from $130 to $500. They cut a variety of material including : paper, cardstock, foodbox cardboard, vinyl, foam, fabric, chipboard, leather. The cut width ranges from 4.5″ to 24″. They each have their own software and apps to download to run the machines, but you can design in other software, like Illustrator, Inkscape, Tinkercad, Cuttle and others. Some obvious starter ideas are stickers and decals, iron-ons for clothing (but get a heat press to make this easier : that could be its own page…), candle boxes with imagery, stick/finger puppets, paper circuits, …
The next step would be a full color vinyl printer cutter, which can range from $5000 to $20,000 depending on size and features. Roland is a big player in that market (they also have 24-64″cutters only and printers only). I think their BN-20A for $5200 has a lot of possibilities for Makerspaces. It can print/cut up to 20″ wide media. HP is in the market also. US Cutter has been a good site to window shop.
Obviously, in addition to the machine, you need materials. Paper and foodbox cardboard is “easy” to come by, but vinyl you need to buy. And the printer will need inks.
There are also some tools that you need when you have a vinyl cutter :
self healing cutting mats (various sizes)
paper cutter
Xacto style knives (Slice is a nice ceramic alternative)
straightedge / rulers
maybe the triangular rulers to keep fingers safer
scissors
weeding tools
(you can find sets of most tools ; and yes, you need “all” of those)
transfer tape to pull vinyl off backing and place onto surface
