15 Easy Catapults to Make With Kids Making a catapult with kids starts out as a craft and ends with a fun activity! Add a target or a competitive goal and now you have a game. It might possibly be the perfect toy! 15 DIY Catapults All these catapults to make at home use everyday objects – hopefully you won’t have to buy a thing! These are in order as seen in the photo above with a few bonus catapults at the end. Plastic Spoon Catapult – Housing a Forrest starts us off with the simplest version of them all! Tinker Toy Catapult – Get out that cherished set and make an easy catapult! Dragon Slayer Catapult – There is a whole story behind this simple (and large) catapult from Frugal Fun for Boys. Tissue Box Catapult – This simple machine uses pencils and an empty tissue box from Spoonful. Paper Plate Target Game – This catapult game will have paper balls landing and math ensuing. Catapult Goal Game – This simple DIY game from Toddler Approved is catapult fun on a tabletop scale. Catapult Science Catapult Projectiles for Kids
Invent to Learn Workshop Shopping List and Downloads The following are some of our favorite things and stuff used in Invent To Learn workshops. Enjoy! Handouts Invent To Learn Workshop Handout Kit and TMI Robot Poster Soft Circuits, a facilitator’s guide to getting started with wearable computing or e-textiles. Lilypad Protosnap Example Code – 2 sketches that demonstrate how all the LEDs, buzzers, buttons, sensors, etc work (Zip file lilypad_protosnap_examples) Seminal videos on learning by making 3n “Experimental Math” laboratory littleBits Quick Start Guides All of the littleBits manuals in one PDF file (as of March 2015) Schooling vs. Fantasy Budget Gary Stager was asked how he would spend $50,000 to get a school on the path to learning-by-making. Parts and Kit Suppliers SparkFun and Adafruit Industries are great sources of kits and electronic parts. MakerShed is a good source of kits and maker supplies for the home. Little Bird Electronics (Aussie distributor) Books Mobile “Maker Spaces?” Turtle Art Turtle Art web site TortugArte (en Espanol) Arduino
Science for Kids: Toothpick Structures When most of us think of science for kids we think chemistry and biology projects, but why not incorporate a little engineering for kids in there instead? I actually think building structures with kids is one of the most engaging science activities you can do together; kids love building things and they won’t even realize they are doing a fun science project at the same time! Plus this project takes just minutes to set up using materials you probably have on hand (did you save those packing peanuts from all your online purchases this year?). This post contains affiliate links to products I love and recommend to my readers, plus it keeps this little blog o’mine afloat! Materials Biodegradable Packing PeanutsToothpicksSpray Bottle filled with WaterTray Instructions Step One Set up the invitation to play. You’re done! Looks Like Antonio Gaudi. More If your kids enjoyed building structures don’t miss our Paper Building Blocks.
Easy {and Fun} Catapult for Kids to Make A catapult for kids to make is what we are featuring today! What kid doesn’t want to launch something across the room? Build a catapult to develop this love even more. Kids Activities Blog hopes your kids love this activity as much as our own do. Catapult for Kids to Make Before building our craft stick catapult, I showed my 3 year old how to turn a spoon into a catapult. Supplies needed: 7 craft sticks3 rubber bandsa milk capcotton balls {or other objects to launch} I then showed him pictures of catapults from Google images. Build a Catapult Stack 5 craft sticks together, and rubber band the ends.Stack 2 craft sticks together, and wrap a rubber band around the very end.Separate the 2 craft sticks. Catapult Science Now create a simple experiment using the catapult of your choice. Launch an object from the catapult multiple times and measure how far it travels each time.Launch different objects from the catapult and measure how far each object travels.Compare catapults. More Kids Activities
K-8 Intro to Computer Science K-8 Intro to Computer Science is a free course that aims to demystify computer science and show K-8 students that it’s fun, collaborative, and creative. The course is designed to motivate students and educators to continue learning computer science to improve real world relationships, connections, and life. Educators will foster an environment of communal learning that emphasizes risk-taking. This course will teach students about computer science, computational thinking, and programming. The content of this course is appropriate for kindergartners through 8th graders and beyond, but teachers must adjust the lessons and their pacing appropriately to the needs of their students. This course was developed in accordance with our educational philosophy. How to get started Here’s how to get started: Register as a teacher on learn.code.org. Info sessions for Educators We want computer science to be accessible for both students and teachers. Session 1 What is Computer Science (CS)? Questions?
Picture Perfect Science: Bubbles Curious Little Apps :: How It Works: Machines by Geek Kids Overview As parents and educators we are constantly responding to questions of how and why. With the help of How It Works: Machines children can get a close look at how nine different everyday machines work, including a car, a hair dryer, a lawn mower and a vacuum cleaner. They are encouraged to assemble these devices by dragging pieces of the inside mechanics of different machines to their illustrative see-through structures. Learning outcome How It Works: Machines encourages children to find out about how different machines work by watching their parts functioning together. This app suits inquirers – children who have an interest in finding out more about how the world works. Usability This iPad app is very simple to navigate. More info This iPad app encourages children to: Fun factor Children will be amazed as they see how machines that they have used before actually work. Negatives This app has quite a few links to the app store which may distract some users. The Bottom Line
LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Fix the Factory Other resources available from the Science Curriculum Office Curious Little Apps :: The best educational iPad apps for kids Overview Monster Physics is an addictive creative app that encourages children to learn more about physics and explore physical phenomena that they will encounter in their daily lives. There are fifty missions where kids are challenged to complete tasks that involve a cute little monster, such as helping it reach some fruit to eat. Children complete these tasks by utilising a variety of parts and materials such as wheels, cannons, ropes, ice, propellers, wood and many more. Parts can be resized, flipped, rotated and manipulated in many different ways. The tutorials are highly recommended as they highlight the way these different parts and materials function, but once children understand how they can be utilised the fun truly begins! Kids are free to use their creativity in the ‘Build It’ option, where they design inventions that allow them to experiment freely. Learning Outcome Usability This app is very easily navigated. More info This app enables children to: Fun Factor Negatives
Open Source Tracking Device by DSS Circuits My project is an Open Source tracking device based on the Arduino platform. A few years ago we had a bad ice storm here in Massachusetts and we lost power for several days. Well during the power outage my brother-in-law's house was robbed and one of the items stolen was my nephews' PS3. As is usually the case, none of the items were ever recovered. I talked to a couple of law enforcement personnel and found out that gaming consoles were one of the most common things stolen from homes. The idea was that if your house got robbed, there's a good chance your fake video game console would be among the list of stolen items. That's when I decided to condense the project down into a single board. The board contains everything you'd need or want in a tracking device. GPS - An ultra sensitive -165dBm receiver with on board passive antenna that can be configured to a 10Hz update rate.GSM - SIM900 Quad band GSM module to connect to the GSM cellular network. Thanks for your support!
Halloween Science - fizzy rocks My children always love a good baking soda activity, even my 7 year old still gets excited at the prospect of some fizzy fun. This took literally minutes to prepare and all you need is baking soda, vinegar and food colouring. You can see our original post here. What you need: Water Bicarbonate of soda/baking soda Vinegar Food colouring Plastic bugs Instructions Mix some water with the bicarbonate of soda, I used a whole packet of bicarbonate of soda and just added water slowly until I had a very thick paste type mixture. Add a few drops of food colouring, mould into rock shapes with the bugs inside and leave to dry for a few hours. Once the rocks have hardened, add vinegar very slowly and watch as they fizz and dissolve. Related posts More Baking Soda Experiments Monster Tea Party Baking Soda powered boat Baking Soda Volcano Baking Soda Popper
Build a Bobsled Racer Activity adapted from the Museum of Science, Boston‘s Design Challenges, a program of hands-on activities developed to help students and visitors explore the engineering design process, and from the version modified for classroom use by California’s Tech Museum of Innovation. Click on link to view the educator’s guide (.pdf) Summary Teams of students in grades 3 to 8 learn about friction, forces, and the engineering design process by building and testing miniature bobsleds to see which can race down an icy slope either the fastest or slowest. Grade level: 3-8 Time: 20 minutes for the activity, 10 minutes for setup and clean up. Learning outcomes After doing this activity, students should be able to: Standards International Technology and Engineering Educators Association Energy is the capacity to do work. Next Generation Science Standards The Challenge Design a bobsled to race down the icy slopes as quickly or as slowly as possible. Materials Procedure Before the activity Activity 1. 2.Create. 3. 4.