Activities
These design challenges and science experiments cover topics like physics, chemistry, engineering, the environment and more! Need help getting started? Check out our Parent Tips.
Check out these activities in Spanish on our En Casa page.
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10 Days of Design Challenges
The educators and scientists at The Tech Interactive have created 10 different design challenges for you to try. Some will make you think. Some are a little silly. But if you stick with us, in just 10 days we promise you’ll be a more confident builder! A more ingenious innovator! And a more creative ... creator!
Duration: 10+ minutes each day
Building a Storm Drain
Create a storm drain cover that can keep trash out while letting water pass through in order to protect our waterways.
Duration: 45 minutes to one hour
Subject: Engineering, Earth science
Caution! Wildlife Crossing
In this fun activity, you will work as an engineer to build and test a wildlife crossing for a specific animal’s needs. Use your creativity and imagination to figure out how to help an animal cross the road safely!
Duration: 20+ minutes
Subject: Biodiversity
Create with Cardboard
For this design challenge, look around for some cardboard- any kind will do! Boxes, recycled packages, paper tubes, whatever you have on hand. Then see what you can prototype! Try building a tall tower or something strong enough to hold weight. Test out your prototype and see how it performs. Make changes and keep experimenting!
Duration: 20+ minutes
Subject: Engineering
Design for All: Face Masks for Friends Sponsored by Stanford Children's Health
In this activity, you will play the role of a product designer, identify a user (like a favorite stuffed animal or person!) and get to know their individual needs. You will create a design concept for a face mask, focusing on its fit and comfort.
Duration: 30 minutes
Subject: Design Thinking
Energy Red Light, Green Light
This activity is a fun exploration of energy concepts for children 5 to 9, and can be used as their exercise/outside time for the day too!
Duration: 20 minutes
Subject: Potential/kinetic energy, PE
Get in the Game!
Do you enjoy playing board games? Ever wanted to create your own? Use computational thinking to break down the process into simpler steps and design a unique game!
Duration: 30+ minutes
Subject: Computational thinking
Gyroscope Dancing
How smooth are your dance moves? Can you spin like a gyroscope without falling over? Gyroscope dancing involves keeping one part of the body completely still while dancing with the rest. In this experiment, dancers will see if they can keep the accelerometers on their smartphone from detecting motion while they move and groove. All you need is a smartphone, the Arduino Science Journal app, an armband phone holder and at least two people! Gyroscope Dancing is a fun data challenge for your brain and your body!
Duration: 15 minutes
Subject: Data Science, Physical Education
Linkages
A linkage is created by connecting two or more rigid parts to make a flexible hinge; you can keep it simple or develop complex mechanical motion by connecting multiple linkages to create all kinds of contraptions. (Think flapping wings, dancing robots, chomping sharks!) At The Tech we especially love how linkages inspire the creation of whimsical characters with surprising motions.
Duration: 20+ minutes
Subject: Design Thinking, Engineering
Match It
Use your super sleuth sound skills to see if you can match a sound maker with its graph in this data-matching activity.
Duration: 15 minutes
Subject: Data science, Sounds
Paper Skyscraper
Create the tallest structure you can with just five pieces of paper! This fun building challenge is great for multiple ages and large groups. How high can you go?
Duration: 15+ minutes
Subject: Design Thinking, Engineering
Responsible Reservoirs
You’re the mayor of a growing town and you need to decide whether or not to build a new dam to generate electricity. What factors will you consider? Would thinking like a computer help you decide? Play Responsible Reservoirs to find out!
Duration: 20+ minutes
Subject: Environmental Science
Summer Unplugged Design Challenges
Things are heating up and we’ve created five summer-themed design challenges for you to try.
Zipline
In this classic design challenge, you will be creating a vehicle to transport a passenger, such as a small toy, from one end of a zipline to the other.
Duration: 30+ minutes
Subject: Design Thinking, Engineering
Algae String
Who needs boring old plastic? Get creative and use simple at-home chemistry to transform natural materials from living seaweed into flexible, colorful string! What will you create?
Duration: Make algae gel: 20 min
Let gel rest: 1 hr- overnight
Make calcium bath: 5 min
Make string: 30 min
Subject: Biodesign, Chemistry, Materials Science
Building for Birdie
Birds are excellent engineers. Spread your own engineering wings as you explore different shapes and materials to design a sturdy home for a bird.
Duration: 30 minutes
Subject: Science, Language Arts
Coloring Pages
Download one of our techtastic coloring pages, and then color at home or with your friends over video chat.
Cupcake Delivery
In this design challenge, you will create wind-powered contraptions to transport a load. At The Tech, we use 3D-printed cupcakes as our load, but you can use just about any small object!
Duration: 20+ minutes
Subject: Design Thinking, Engineering
Design for All: Imagining Inventions
Design a future- thinking invention! Try thinking like a superhero or create a crazy mash-up! Learn about the specific user and sketch a fun futuristic solution for their problem.
Duration: 30 minutes
Subject: Design thinking, future thinking
Engineering for Earthquakes
Build a structure to take on an earthquake. Our latest activity sizes up your seismic safety. You’ll make a simple shake table and then construct a building that can withstand your shakes, rattles and rolls.
Duration: DIY Shake Table: 5-30 min
Earthquake-Safe Structure: 45+ min
Subject: Engineering Design Challenge
Grabbers
Design a device that can pick up three different objects from at least three feet away. It’s a challenge for the social-distancing ages!
Duration: 45+ minutes
Subject: Design Thinking, Mechanics, Simple Machines
High Tech Hot Potato
In this twist on the classic party game, the “hot potato” is a DIY container for your smartphone to keep it as still (and safe!) as possible. After designing your “hot potato,” load your phone and record the motion detected by the phone’s accelerometers while it’s passed around. Work as a team to analyze the graphs and reduce the amount of motion detected.
Duration: 15-20 minutes
Subject: Data science
Maker May Design Challenges
The educators and scientists at The Tech Interactive have created five different design challenges for you to try at home! Each day has a different theme, starting with things you can wear and ending with things you can play!
Materials Treasure Hunt
Some people may call it a junk drawer, but we like to think of it as a treasure chest. Our guide and video will show you how to repurpose your trash into treasured materials that you can use to design, build and create!
Puzzles
Try one of our jigsaw puzzles with some of our favorite sights around The Tech Interactive.
Roller Coasters
In this design challenge, you will create your own roller coaster, using a marble or small ball as your cart. This activity is a great introduction to hands-on engineering for children 6 and up, and it can be used to introduce connections of energy and friction for older children.
Duration: 20+ minutes
Subject: Engineering, Physics
Thaumatropes
Thaumatropes are old-fashioned optical illusions, or “tricks of the eye,” that date back to the 1820s. Here’s how to make one for yourself!
Biomimicry Mash-Up
Nature is full of solutions to various problems— whether it be protection from predators, inhabiting harsh environments, or finding a meal. Use biomimicry to learn about unique organisms and be inspired to create something new for human use!
Duration: 20+ minutes
Subject: Design Thinking
Cabbage Inks
Can you make color-changing paint from a simple cabbage? No doubt, sauerkraut. This activity from the scientists behind our BioTinkering Lab brings together biology, chemistry and art for an experience that is all science, and a little bit of magic.
The cabbage inks activity was made possible by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA), Grant Number R25 GM129220, from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Extract: 1 hour
Mix: 30 min
Create: 30 min-3 days
Subject: Biodesign, Chemistry, Art
Cooking with the Sun
Engineer a solar oven using some basic kitchen supplies, construction paper and a box. Then test it by making s’mores!
Duration: 40 minutes to build; one hour to “cook”
Subject: Solar radiation and energy, greenhouse effect
Decontamination Algorithm
We know that our hands carry a lot of germs, but seeing is believing! This fun, two-person activity has a friend use colored cornstarch to create a trail of evidence of things they’ve touched. Then, using computational thinking instead of looking, you’ll create a sequence of questions to help you figure out what surfaces are “contaminated.”
Duration: 20+ minutes
Subject: Computational thinking, algorithms, problem-solving
Design for All: Project Playground
Become a playground designer and create a space that is fun, both for you and other kids. Sketch out your plans for the latest and greatest playground, designed for you and a fictional friend, then introduce everyone to the playground of the future!
Duration: 30 minutes
Subject: Design Thinking
Green Pennies
Can you make pennies turn green? And change them back? This activity is a great introduction to basic chemical reactions, experiments, and the scientific process.
Duration: 30 minutes of set-up; five days of observation
Subject: Chemistry
Inflatables
Ever seen those wacky waving tube dudes outside a car dealership or furniture store? Imagine a DIY version!
Duration: 30+ minutes
Subject: Design Thinking, Engineering
Making with Microbes
Ever wanted to grow your own paper or plastic? Or create leather that doesn’t use animals? All these can be done at home by collaborating with microbes — tiny microscopic organisms — to grow a custom biomaterial.
Duration: 30+ minutes to create; one week to grow
Subject: Biodesign
Ninja Walk
Can you move as smoothly and silently as a ninja? In this experiment, you’ll use your stealthy ninja skills to move through a noisy obstacle course while holding a smartphone that is recording data on your performance.
Duration: 15+ minutes
Subject: Data Literacy, Physical Education
Puzzling Procedure
Have you ever tried to think like a computer? Guess what? You probably do it all the time without even knowing! In this fun activity you’ll apply your computational thinking skills to jigsaw puzzles. In addition to doing a puzzle, you’ll create an algorithm or set of instructions to help someone else solve jigsaw puzzles.
Duration: 30+ minutes
Subject: Computational thinking, algorithms, computer science
Solve the Fall
Design a device that will stop a ball from bouncing when dropped from a height of six feet!
Duration: 20+ minutes
Subject: Design Thinking, Engineering, Gravity, Force
Time Capsule
Make a time capsule capturing your life now. Save it to open/watch at a later date!
Duration: 30+ minutes
Subject: Social Science, Digital Literacy