Student Spotlight - Zeke’s Zoodads

How One BG Christian Student Turned 3D Printing Into Joyful Creation

What starts as a class lesson doesn’t always stay in the classroom. Sometimes it follows a student home, turns into a family project, and ends up on keychains, backpacks, and desks all over town.

That’s exactly what happened for Zeke, a Bowling Green Christian Academy student and creator of Zeke’s Zoodads—a growing collection of 3D printed animals and creatures that are equal parts fun, fidget-friendly, and full of personality.

Zeke traces the start of it all back to SHINE class (an enrichment class for elementary students), where students spent time learning about entrepreneurship. “It was part of the SHINE class at the Christian Academy,” he shared. “We did a lesson on entrepreneurship. We had a 3D printer, and we started making stuff.” At first, it was just the excitement of creating something new—but that spark caught quickly. “Then my dad and I did a craft show,” Zeke said, “and that got me more into it… I’ve really liked it since then.”

Even the name reflects how it began—creative, playful, and family-centered. “It’s a play on words,” he explained. “Like doodads… but Zeke and my dad… and with all the animals, like a zoo.”

From that first craft show, Zeke began to notice something important: people didn’t just like the idea of 3D-printed figures—they loved the right kinds of figures. “At our first show… the little donut spiders and little animals sold out the most,” he said. That experience became a kind of on-the-fly market research. If those were the ones people were drawn to, those were the ones worth making more of.

So Zeke and his dad started planning around what people actually wanted. “We started planning and we were like, okay—these ones sold out the most,” Zeke said. “And then we scrolled through and looked at the different designs out there.” That process led to what Zeke now makes most often: “We definitely do a lot of animals… and dragons.”

But Zeke’s table didn’t blend in with everyone else’s.

His dad remembered that first show clearly: “There were like three other people selling 3D prints,” he said. “But what made our prints different?” Zeke answered without hesitation: “That we had multicolor ones. They all had single color.” And it wasn’t only the color—it was the variety. “They mostly just had dragons,” Zeke said. “But we still had mini dragons, big dragons, T-Rex, turtles, turkeys, and donut spiders… just a bunch of different animals.”

That’s where Zeke’s Zoodads starts to feel less like “a thing he makes” and more like “a world he’s building”—one creature at a time.

From Idea to Printed Creation

The best part? Zeke isn’t just involved in the creative part. He can explain the full process with the kind of detail that makes you realize this is real skill-building, not just pressing print.

“First, we look through and think, ‘Okay, this one looks like it would be good for boys or girls,’” he said. “We load it into our design program. If we want to, we would change the color.” Then comes the part that separates a simple print from a polished product: “We assign the colors and where they were gonna be in the printer… we check the brim around the animals and make sure everything is correct.” After that, he explained, “we slice the plate… which is kind of like creating the code for the printer.”

Then it’s time to print—and that means patience. “It heats up the bed and the nozzle, melting the plastic,” he said, “and then sort of printing the first layer.” How long does it take? “We let it run for 20 minutes or 50 hours… depends.” Either way, there’s still one important step before it’s ready. “It has to cool down,” Zeke said, “because if it’s too hot… it’s hard to get off the plate.” Once it cools, “everything loosens up,” and he carefully removes it without touching the plate too much—because, as Zeke put it, “you don’t want to touch the plate because then it gets all your oils on it.”

It’s a surprisingly thoughtful process for something that ends up looking so playful.

When asked about his favorite creations, Zeke didn’t pick just one—because his favorites are like a personal collection of milestones. “There’s an octopus I have in my room,” he said. “It’s red and black… it’s a void octopus.” He also named one that people loved at craft shows: “I have a Lunar Knight dragon, and it glows in the dark.” Glow-in-the-dark isn’t something they do often, but when they do, it’s memorable. “We don’t really do it a lot,” Zeke admitted, “but those sold out really quickly too—the Lunar Dragon.” 

Creating for Community, Not Just Craft Shows

That same creativity is what made a recent project especially meaningful: lion keychains for his school.

When Zeke was asked how it felt to make something for the school, he didn’t overcomplicate it. He just told the truth: “It makes me feel good on the inside,” he said. “It makes me feel like I’m helping the school too instead of just attending it… it makes me feel connected with it more.”

That connection matters. In a real, tangible way, these keychains help support ongoing school initiatives, including the building project. Families can purchase one and participate in something bigger. A small printed lion becomes a symbol of shared mission and momentum.

And that same heart shows up in what Zeke hopes people experience when they receive one of his creations. “A lot of people buy them for different reasons,” he said. “For grandkids… hopefully they’re happy with it and really like it.” Others keep them for themselves. “They’re gonna use it as a fidget… just for playing around.” He even connected it back to the classroom: “My teacher said we were allowed to have quiet fidgets… so they can just fidget with it… and learn in school still.”

Growing Skills, One Zoodad at a Time

When asked about big future plans, Zeke kept it simple—and refreshingly honest. “No,” he said. “Just kind of taking it day by day.” But he’s not finished with it either. When asked if he plans to keep going, he smiled: “Yeah, probably… I’m not bored of it.”

His dad sees the deeper value developing along the way. “We’re learning together,” he said. “Teaching him financial responsibility… ways that he can support himself in the future, how to be an entrepreneur.” Since entrepreneurship came later in his life, he enjoys passing along those lessons earlier. “Who knows how early he could start being his own boss,” he said, “or being able to employ other people, maybe, and create jobs.”

Right now, Zeke’s Zoodads isn’t about building a corporation. It’s about building skills, confidence, creativity, and character. It’s a hobby with purpose and a project that teaches patience, problem-solving, and responsibility along the way.

And that’s where Zeke’s story fits beautifully into who we are as a school.

Our mission is to partner with Christian families to develop life-long disciples who know their unique identity and purpose in Christ. Zeke’s Zoodads is a small but clear example of that mission in action: a student discovering God-given gifts, practicing excellence, serving others, and learning that what he creates can bring joy and blessing to those around him.

Sometimes discipleship looks like chapel, Bible class, or service projects.

Sometimes it looks like a multicolored donut spider made with purpose, and that's a student spotlight worth sharing.