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Explore engineering with this simple cardboard elevator. Then use your imagination to turn it into a parking structure lift, a dollhouse feature, or anything you like!

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Cut the lid off your crate. We'll use both the base and the lid in our lift construction.

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Cut a strip of cardboard from the lid, making it slightly narrower than the interior depth of the crate. If you're using a crate, this would be about 3 inches. Next, place the cardboard strip next to the box. Note where the sides of the box end, and mark the placement, going a little narrower than the width of the box. If you're using a crate, this would be just under 6 inches. You'll use this portion to create the inside of your lift. Score and fold the edges of the strip up. Make sure that both of your tabs are even in length. This piece will be the base of your lift.

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Next cut a thin strip from the remaining cardboard lid, about 1 or 2 inches. Place this strip next to the first wider strip and mark just inside the fold lines of the last strip you cut. Score and fold the flaps of this thinner strip down. This thinner strip will be the top of your lift.

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On the thin strip of cardboard, measure roughly a half inch from each side and punch a hole.

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Place the wider strip of cardboard on a flat surface with its tabs folded upward. Then, put the thinner strip on top and fold its flaps downward. The thin strip should fit just along the inside flaps of the wider base strip, creating a rectangular shape. Use hot glue to attach them together.

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Measure out and cut a length of string that is about twice the height of your crate when it's standing upright. Loop the string through the holes and tie your string together in a simple overhand knot.

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Now that all of your pieces are made, It's time to decorate! Use assorted cardstock and patterned tape to design your lift any way you would like!

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With the base of your crate upright, mark two holes along the sides of the box, about an inch from the top. Use a craft knife to cut these holes out, cutting them wide enough to fit the wooden dowel.

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Insert your dowel into the two holes. Your dowel should be level.

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Place the lift at the base of the crate, with the string and holes on top. Find the center of the looped string and tape it to the center of the dowel rod. It is important to get this centered or else your lift will not operate correctly.

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You now have a working lift! To make your lift go up, twist the dowel so the string wraps around the dowel, pulling up the lift. What fun objects can you find to put on your lift? What are some everyday machines that use a similar mechanism?

Want to make your elevator less work to use? Try cutting a cardboard circle and attach it to one end of the dowel. With the wheel added, you’ve turned plain old dowel into a wheel and axle mechanism. A wheel and axle is a super-handy simple machine used in everything from doorknobs to vehicles to — you guessed it — elevators. Together, the wheel and axle allows you to lift heavier loads than without it. If you’re only lifting pom-poms and cardboard, of course, it doesn’t make much difference. But if you were building a real elevator lifting thousands of pounds, you’d want all the help you could get!

crate or box

dowel

string / twine

tape

hot glue

scissors

craft knife

cardstock

hole punch

Cardboard Elevator

sounds

sound science

musical instrument

music

Create a recycled musical instrument using just an empty cardboard box and rubber bands. Then decorate, play, and explore sound vibrations!

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Open your crate and paint the bottom and inner sides with a bright and fun color acrylic paint. Wait for the paint to dry. 

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Close the box and find a round shape to trace for the main sound hole of the guitar. We used a medium sized bowl, but a wide drinking glass or a CD would work too. Close your crate and lay the round item on top of the lid so it's centered width-wise on the crate, but closer to one end. Trace the edge with a pen or pencil. 

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Using a craft knife, make the initial cut into the traced line. Always make sure to cut away from you! Continue cutting along the traced line around the entire circle. If needed, have a parent help with this step.

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Now turn your crate and look at the side panel of the box near the big hole. Place your craft tube on the center of the top panel and trace it. With a parent's help, carefully cut out the traced circle.

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The craft tube will serve as the neck of the guitar. Decorate it and get creative! We wrapped bright paper around the neck and also added pom poms to represent the tuning pegs of the guitar. If you like, you could also decorate it with paint or washi tape. 

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Insert the craft tube into the smaller hole along the side of the box. If necessary, add some hot glue to the sides of the hole to keep the neck in place.

Fold a piece of cardstock paper a few times over, like an accordion. Glue the folded paper below the large hole, on the opposite end of the guitar neck. This will serve as the bridge for your guitar, lifting the rubber bands off the crate.

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Loop four long rubber bands (2 on each side of the craft tube) around the crate.

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Strum the DIY guitar! We found that adding different thicknesses and sizes of rubber bands to create different tones! We also tied a ribbon to our guitar to represent a guitar strap.

empty crate

craft tube

4 rubber bands

card stock

pen or pencil

pom poms

acrylic craft paint

paint

small bowl

glue gun

Cardboard Guitar

Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day crafts

physics

animals

game

Use weighted popsicle sticks and rubber bands to create your own version of a classic arcade game, then challenge a friend to play!Download the printable <a href="http://images.kiwicrate.com/diy_ad/Kiwi-Co-Whack-A-Groundhog-Printable.pdf">here</a>.

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Cut out the objects on the printable. Then, set the groundhog cards aside and glue the gameboard to the top of the crate box. 

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Use the lip of the cup to trace a circle in the middle of each of the holes. 

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Cut out the circles on the top of the box with an X-acto knife. You will need a grownup assistant to help you. 

Cut slightly inside the marked circle so that when you place a cup into the hole it doesn’t fall through.

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 Cut a rectangle into one of the sides of a dixie cup. Do this to six cups. 

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Place the six cups into the holes on the top of the box. Then, glue them in place so that the holes you cut into the cups face the long sides of the box. 

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On the long sides of the crate, use a skewer to make holes that line up with the center of each of the cups and is about half inch from the top of the crate. 

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Widen these holes just enough so that a popsicle stick fits through them. 

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Glue quarters to the ends of the popsicle sticks. Let them dry. 

Slide the popsicle sticks into the holes on the side of the box as pictured. Then, double wrap rubber bands on both sides of the popsicle stick. 

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Push the rubber bands towards the middle of the popsicle stick so that they “hug” the side of the box. This will help keep the popsicle stick from sliding forward and backward when playing! 

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Glue the groundhog cards to either side of the clothespins. 

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Clip the clothespins onto the ends of the popsicle sticks in the cup. 

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Glue two cups together, sandwiching the pointy end of the skewer in between them. This will be your mallet. 

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Wrap yarn around the mallet until it is completely covered. 

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Play with your whack-a-mole! The quarters serve as weights to keep your groundhogs popping up even after you whack ‘em down. 

crate box

dixie cups (8)

popsicle sticks (6)

quarters (6)

clothespins (6) - small

white glue

x-acto knife

rubber bands (12) - tiny

yarn

skewer

pencil

Whack-A-Groundhog

art-science projects

automaton

craft

homemade craft

Halloween

Design and build a little automaton with a big personality. What kind of monster will you make?

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Use a large plastic cup and trace four circles on the cardboard. Cut the four circles out. 

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Use school glue to glue two of the circles together to create a thicker cam. For faster results, let an adult apply hot glue. 

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To make the axle, poke one of the cams with a skewer in the center. Don't worry if it's not quite perfectly centered, it will still work. Apply school glue to attach the skewer. For faster results, let an adult apply hot glue. 

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With the end of your scissors, poke a hole about an inch in from the top edge of your shoebox. Cut the straw in thirds and poke one piece through the hole.&nbsp;

Use school or hot glue to secure the straw with the shoebox. The straw allows the skewer to spin freely.

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Poke the second skewer through the center of the second cam. Then, use your scissors to poke two more holes through the sides of the box for the straws. With the cams in place, I had my son help me test out the motion. He was delighted to discover that rotating the horizontal skewer rotated the vertical skewer!

Make sure the second cam doesn't touch the backside of the box when it is assembled. If it does, poke new holes to move the skewer a bit more forward.

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Use your construction paper and markers to make some monsters! You can also use a paper cup to create your monster. Once you are finished, tape or glue it on the vertical axle. Let your monster fly! 

This cardboard automaton uses cams (and followers) to move the monster. A cam is a machine part that moves (either back and forth or around and around) — and that transfers that motion to another machine part called a follower. Transforming one kind of motion into another is a cam’s job. In this machine, the cam and follower transform the horizontal spin of the skewer to the vertical spin of the dancing monster!

cardboard

shoe box

Scissors

skewers (we used 2)

paper cup (or plastic cup)

school glue (or hot glue)

drinking straws - (we used 2)

Construction Paper

markers (optional)

tape (optional)

Monster Automaton

learning game

indoor game

game design

Empty box? Boring. Your own tilt-to-play game? A-maze-ing. Design the straw path, add obstacles, and drop in a marble to play. Then, once you’re a maze-solving expert, just mix up the straws to design a brand-new level. Score!

Panda Crate

Sprout: Koala Crate

Labs: Kiwi Crate

World: Atlas Crate

Studio: Doodle Crate

Labs: Tinker Crate

Studio: Maker Crate

Labs: Eureka Crate

14 creative kiwico crate box projects for kids

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