DIY: Marvelous Mechanics Motion

A three-dimensional craft object, constructed from yellow and orange craft sticks and white string, sits on a light wooden table. The base is a yellow triangle, and the string extends upwards to form a prism-like shape. Two orange sticks are suspended within the string structure, appearing to swing or hang freely. A white wall forms the backdrop, decorated with simple cutouts of a light blue flower, a red circle, and a pink flower.

Anti-Gravity Suspension Frame

Many buildings and art installations can maintain strange angles without collapsing - some even appear to float in mid-air defying logic.

Two hands hold a small, light green cardboard car on a light woodgrain surface. The car has four white bottle cap wheels attached with wooden dowels as axles. A yellow straw is taped to the top of the car, and a deflated lime green balloon is attached to the other end of the straw. The straw extends off the back of the car. A measurement line indicates the straw extends 3.5cm beyond the back edge of the cardboard.

Balloon-Powered Car

Create a car powered by a balloon using recycled materials. You can make several and race them against each other to test which factors affect your car's speed and travel distance.

Two hands hold a completed red origami mouse, its body made of folded segments and a small, pointed tail. A small, pink origami object is visible in the top left corner.

Wiggly Bouncy Snake! A Fun Craft for All Ages!

Let's enter the wonderful world of origami! Make your own super-elastic bouncing little snake and compete with friends and family to see whose snake can bounce the farthest!

Catapult

A small catapult constructed from popsicle sticks and rubber bands sits on a light wood-grain surface, ready to launch a bottle cap. The catapult's base is made of rainbow-colored sticks held together with rubber bands, and the arm is a blue popsicle stick.

A reindeer-faced balloon, crafted with paper antlers and facial features, is attached to a short green straw threaded onto a string strung across a wooden pegboard.

Rudolph's Ready for Take-Off! A Christmas Craft Adventure

3, 2, 1, launch! What happens when you use a balloon to power a reindeer? Will it run faster?

Two hands hold a completed paper butterfly craft against a light wood background. The butterfly, with black wings and yellow markings, is being held by its lower and upper wings. The wings are slightly raised, giving the butterfly a three-dimensional appearance. The image showcases the finished product of a simple paper craft project.

Dancing Butterfly

This fun craft project lets you create your own flying butterfly! Using simple materials and creativity, you can make a dynamic butterfly model that flaps its wings as you move the paper tube up and down, just like a real butterfly dancing in the air.

Two hands hold a small, simple catapult constructed from two wooden craft sticks, a thin strip of green material (possibly paper or plastic), and two small yellow rubber bands. The rubber bands are wrapped around the ends of the craft sticks, securing the green strip between them. The catapult is held against a light wood-grain background.

DIY Popsicle Stick Harmonica

Can you make a musical instrument from popsicle sticks? It might sound impossible, but it's actually quite simple! With just common household materials, you can create your own small harmonica and play music.

Two hands play with a small toy made from paper cups. The top cup is white and decorated with a cute, hand-drawn bunny face, complete with pink ears and small paws. A thin blue band is wrapped around the bottom of the white cup. The white cup sits on top of an orange paper cup. The hands gently push the sides of the white cup, causing it to pop up and off the orange cup, like a simple jumping toy. The video demonstrates a fun and easy craft activity using paper cups to create a small, jumping bunny toy.

Jumping Rabbit

3, 2, 1, Hop! Easter isn't just about finding eggs - it's a perfect opportunity to let creativity and joy "hop" together! Make your own jumping rabbit, explore energy transformation, and dance joyfully to welcome spring!

A dark-coloured slime, adorned with googly eyes, reacts to a magnet being held near it on a wooden surface.

Make Slime That Moves With Magnets!

Can you imagine making slime "move"? This isn't magic, it's the power of science! In this experiment, you'll create a magical magnetic slime that moves as if enchanted, pulled by a magnet.

Two hands hold a paper cup flower craft against a light wooden background. The flower, made from a cup cut into segments and colored in shades of yellow, orange, and red, has a light blue center. One hand holds the flower while the other inserts a small wooden stick into the center, likely to create a stem or spinning mechanism.

Paper Cup Spinning Top

Do you know how spinning tops maintain their balance? Create a colourful spinning top toy from a used paper cup and discover how tops use their centre of gravity and spinning speed to stay balanced.

Two hands are assembling a toy rocket or projectile. The left hand holds a pale blue paper straw with a bright yellow triangular fin attached. The right hand holds a flexible orange straw and is inserting it into the open end of the blue straw. The background is a light woodgrain surface.

Making Paper Rockets

Have you ever played with toy rockets or watched real rocket launches on television? In this project, you'll create simple rockets using paper, tape, and straws, and explore how fin design affects how far your rocket can fly.

Two hands manipulate a cardboard tube painted pale yellow with an orange band of tape around one end. One hand holds the tube, and the other hand places a bright yellow pom-pom into the open end of the tube, against a light wooden background. The image suggests a crafting activity.

Paper Tube Launcher

We love launchers because they're a brilliant way to play with physics! In this project, children can transform a balloon into a stretchy net to launch small balls and knock down targets.

A small cup or container, likely punctured with holes, hangs suspended above a large piece of white paper. The cup contains red and blue paint, which drips and splatters onto the paper below. The cup swings in a pendulum motion, creating swirling and overlapping patterns of red and blue lines and splatters on the paper. The video captures the process of creating abstract art using a swinging pendulum and paint.

Pendulum Painting

A pendulum is a suspended object that hangs by a string or chain. You might have seen pendulums swinging back and forth in large clocks, or experienced similar motion on a swing.

A small airplane or glider, crafted from various pieces of cardboard, sits on a light wood-grain surface. The fuselage appears to be made of plain, light-colored cardboard, while the wings are constructed from different types of cardboard: one is light grey or blue, and the other has a printed design. A bright red piece of cardboard, likely representing the tail fin, extends prominently from the rear. Yellow rubber bands are visible, likely used to hold parts of the plane together. This image showcases a completed DIY project, possibly a toy airplane.

Plane Launcher

Have you tried throwing a paper plane using just your wrist? If you have, you'll know it's quite difficult. If you only have a short distance to launch your paper plane, how can you make it fly further? Try this activity to find out!

A small, spiralling Christmas tree made from green paper, topped with a yellow star and mounted on a skewer stuck into a pink clay base, sits on a clear plastic tray against a pale green background.

Twirling Christmas Tree! A Dazzling Festive Craft!

At Christmas, even the Christmas tree wants to spin merrily! This isn't magic, but the charm of science! In this experiment, you'll see the Christmas tree dance and rotate as the flame rises.

Two hands hold a small zoetrope or animation device made of cardboard and paper. The central image depicts a white rabbit running against a light blue sky and green grass background. A wooden dowel is inserted through the sides of the device, presumably to spin the images and create the illusion of movement. The sides of the zoetrope are orange cardboard. The background is a light wood-grained surface. This image showcases a simple, handmade animation toy.

Running Rabbit

How can static pictures create animation? This is actually an optical illusion - a result of "tricking" our brain. This same principle makes animations and films possible. Let's explore!

Two clear glasses, partially filled with a bright yellow liquid, sit side-by-side on a wooden table. A flexible orange drinking straw is placed so that one end is submerged in the liquid of each glass. The video appears to be demonstrating a simple science experiment, possibly illustrating the principles of siphoning or capillary action.

The Siphon Effect

Have you ever wondered if water could jump from one container to another by itself and distribute evenly between two containers?

Two charming, finished Christmas crafts stand on a light wood-grain surface. On the left, a reindeer figure is constructed from light brown card stock, featuring googly eyes, a drawn red nose and smiling mouth, black card stock antlers, and a red paper scarf. On the right, a snowman is made of white card stock with drawn features: googly eyes, an orange carrot nose, rosy cheeks, a surprised o shaped mouth, and black buttons. The snowman wears a striped orange and yellow scarf, a red paper Santa hat, and has black card stock arms. These simple crafts evoke a festive holiday spirit.

Snowman Wobbler

Create a cheerful Christmas snowman wobbler using recycled bottle caps in just a few simple steps. This delightful holiday craft also teaches children about the science of centre of gravity.

Prepare for a spidery launch! A completed spider catapult, made from craft sticks and a bottle top with a googly eye, is ready for action on a bright orange background, with extra spiders and googly eyes nearby. Let's get those creepy crawlies flying!

Make a Catapult That Launches Spiders!

Make this super simple Halloween-themed catapult at home. Children will use it to launch sweets, spiders, and anything they can think of.

Three cans of fizzy drinks – Fanta Orange, Fanta Grape, and Coca-Cola – stand on a table next to a tall glass of water, all against a dark blue background.

The Unstoppable Can! A Spinning Science Trick!

Have you ever seen a magical trick where a drinks can balances on its bottom edge like an acrobat without falling over?

A playful, handcrafted paper snake, vibrant green with teal spots, spirals around a yellow straw, balanced delicately on a small green clay ball, encircled by four softly glowing teal candles on a white surface.

Make a Snake That Spins!

Have you ever seen a paper snake spin on its own without any wind? This isn't magic, but the charm of science! In this experiment, you'll witness a magical heat snake dance and spin as the flame rises.

A completed paper craft frog sits on a light wood surface. The frog's head is a drawing on light green paper, while its body is formed from a folded, accordion-style stack of pale green paper. Small, drawn arms and feet complete the figure.

Paper Spring Animals

Can paper animals really bounce and jump? It's not magic - it's science! In this DIY activity, we'll create springs using paper folding techniques to make small animals that jump when pressed.

Sundial

Do you know how people in ancient times measured time? Let's make an ancient time-telling tool using materials easily found in nature!

Two hands hold a small ballista or catapult constructed from cardboard, wooden dowels, and rubber bands. A small battery, wrapped in blue textured material, is held in place between the two cardboard discs by a yellow rubber band, which appears to be the launching mechanism. The hands, with decorated fingernails, are positioning the battery. The construction sits on a light wooden surface, and colorful craft supplies are visible in the background, indicating a DIY or crafting project.

Hooke's Roller

Have you noticed how rubber bands or springs always bounce back to their original shape when stretched? Behind this lies an fascinating scientific law—Hooke's Law!

Two small, folded paper figures with drawn-on faces are positioned near a ruler on a white surface. The figure closer to the ruler is yellow with a happy expression, while the second figure, slightly further away and being held by fingers, is orange with a more neutral or slightly unhappy face. A person's hands are visible, one near the ruler and the other interacting with the orange figure. The ruler and the placement of the figures suggest they may be part of a measuring activity or a game involving distance and expressions.

Paper Dominoes

Can paper pieces fall like domino tiles? Yes, they can! But first, you'll need to make them stand up! Arrange folded paper pieces at specific intervals, then knock down the first one to watch them roll like waves!