Get the nephew to show you he is ready. Have him produce some models on the PC. They had courses in CAD when I was in HS nearly 2 decades ago. Have him write you a report on what he would do it with it.

I was thinking about buying my nephew a 3D printer for Christmas. I don't know how old he is but I think he is around 10. The kid already has everything else, iPhone 4s, kindle fire, kindle paperwhite and iPad mini. He is not a computer wiz by any means. He looks competent on the mobile devices though.

I just see him playing web games and mindcraft on the PC. I want to see him get into STEM projects but I think this 3D printing stuff is way over his head.

I did order him an Arduino kit with ethernet on indiegogo. I also bought myself a few kits since its dirt cheap and comes with tons of stuff. It has video lessons and even a book. BE MAKER! KIT http://tinyurl.com/lxlrsv4