I have 4 for use in my first grade classroom. Students can doodle and create with supervision. They were funded through a grant a few years ago, and were around $100 each. They've dropped significantly in price apparently. Mine are used infrequently (2-3 projects per year, but each project is completed 25 times) and have held up.

My DD got one when they first came out a couple years ago. She found it hard to use and not very much fun (and she's really into that sort of thing, has a 3D printer, etc.). The extruder got clogged a lot and it eventually broke. I think it was $100 and I would say not worth it. I assume they may be cheaper now.

We got one last year, don't remember what brand. Anyway, they all have problems. Get the one with the best ratings. Ours worked for about 2 months and then jammed up permanently, and the seller wouldn't take it back because we had used another brand's filament or something equally silly. While it worked, it was great. No, you can't draw things in thin air, but after some practice, 9 year old DC was still able to do fun and creative stuff. First you must learn to move your hand slower than you would when simply drawing. Second, 3d stuff won't stand up on its own - first you need to build a framework, a bone structure, and then you fill it. And it won't be as neat as in commercials. We still liked it.

My daughter wanted one also. After watching some YouTube videos I decided against it. They actually look difficult to use.

My son has this on his Christmas list. When I look on Amazon they are quite expensive in general although a few are more like $25. Anyone have experience with these and have any recommendations. I hesitate to order something expensive as these things are always popular for a few weeks and then put in a closet.