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flight

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engineering

Flex your origami skills by building a high-flying glider that mimics the wings of a bird in flight!&nbsp;

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Gather your materials.

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Fold paper in half and unfold.

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Make triangle folds.

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Fold the tip forwards, backwards and flip over.

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Fold in the sides.

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Fold down the top.

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Fold in these sides to from a rectangle.

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Fold this tip down.

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Fold this entire flap up and bend the first tip over the back.

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Fold in half.

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Create a crease in the middle and open up the wings.

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Make two indents in the tail.

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Throw your plane into the air and watch it flap and glide!

Throughout history, inventors have looked to birds for inspiration on how to build flying machines. In the early 1900s, an inventor named Victor Ochoa wanted to build an airplane that anyone could park right in their own garage! He built his invention, called the Ochoaplane, using lightweight steel pipes, cloth, and even parts from two bicycles. Inspired by how real birds fly, he designed special flexible wings that could flap to create lift and fold down when it was time to park. While it didn't quite take off like modern planes, Ochoa’s clever folding-wing design showed how creative ideas can help shape the future of flight!

printer paper

Flapping Glider

luminary

craft

nature crafts

camping

These mason jar lamps are an easy way to add a little glow to a campsite, an evening stargazing, or just a night in the backyard.

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I used jelly sized jars, purchased in a flat of 12 from a local grocery store, but you can use any size jars.  The glow sticks are from the dollar store.  I used 3 types of colorful tape:  duct tape, packaging tape and washi tape.  They all look great on the jars. The duct tape requires cutting with scissors. The packaging tape has its own cutting blade.  The washi tape was the easiest to work with as it tears easily and doesn't require scissors. 

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Have your child cut or tear sections of the tape they want to use. My four year old did amazingly well cutting through the very sticky and thick duct tape.

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Place tape all over the outside of the jar to cover completely.

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My 9-year-old easily wrapped the packaging tape with the cutting blade around the jar.

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Once the tape is sticking to the jar, press all around the jar to smooth out the air bubbles in the tape.

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Place tape on the bottom of the jar as well. The tape will hold the pieces together if the jar gets dropped and broken.

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Wait until dusk, then activate your glow sticks or turn on your battery operated tea lights and place them inside the jars. I love how these turned out! An easy and fun craft by day, and a dramatic way to light up the night. 

mason jars

colorful tape (duct, packaging, washi, etc.)

scissors

glow sticks or battery operated tea lights

Glow Lights

electronics

science project

outdoor science projects

building

Create a DIY camping lantern using a water bottle — and science.

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Gather the materials to make your DIY lantern.

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Cut out at least 8 circles out of your cardboard. You will want them to be larger in diameter than both your water bottle and tap light.

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Cut smaller circles out of the center of the larger ones turning them into rings. They should be just slightly larger than the diameter of your tap light so that it fits loosely in the center.

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Keep cutting out the circles until you have a stack that is taller than your tap light.

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Cut two more circles of the same size. Cut a hole smaller than the diameter of the water bottle into the center of one of them. Don't cut a hole in the other one. 

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Glue together all of the cardboard rings you first cut. Then, glue the one with the smaller hole on top. Leave the circle without a hole detached for now.

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Flip over your stack of rings and attach hook and loop fastener dots to the bottom. Attach the opposite hook and loop fastener dots to the circle without a hole.

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Insert your tap light face down into the stack of rings. The bottom cover is removable using the hook and loop fasteners, allowing the light to be turned on and off.

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Glue the water bottle to the top of your cardboard housing. The water bottle's base should cover the hole that the light shines through.

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Cut a length of ribbon, and glue both ends to the sides of the water bottle. This will act as the lantern's handle.

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The last step is to turn on the light and find a dark place to test our your lantern!

What's happening?
The water causes the light to change direction. (You can see the same effect by putting a pencil in a clear glass of water – viewed from the side, the pencil appears to be broken.) This change in direction is called refraction, and it causes the focused light from the tap light to disperse in all directions. This spreads the light out around your campsite, making it easier to see all around you.

water bottles

tap light

cardboard

craft knife (or circle cutter)

hook and loop fasteners

ribbon

hot glue

hot glue gun

Water Bottle Lantern

motion

summer fun

This little straw triangle uses science to act as a water pump, capable of spraying water halfway across the kitchen!

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Cut a straw in half. Take one half and use a needle to poke a hole through the middle of the straw. Put a skewer through the hole.

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Use scissors to make two slits to the right and left of the skewer, about a half-inch away. Make sure you don't cut the straw all the way through. 

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Adjust the placement of the straw on the skewer, so the skewer tip and the straw ends all meet at the same point. Use tape to secure the straw ends in place, making sure not to cover any straw openings.

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Fill a glass with water and hold the skewer so that the bottom tip of the triangle is submerged.

Do this part outside or somewhere you don't mind getting a little wet!

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With the top of the triangle above water, roll the skewer between your hands and watch your DIY water fountain come to life! What happens if you spin a little faster or slower?

Try making a bigger triangle shape and see what happens!

What’s going on?&nbsp;Believe it or not, this simple straw fountain works just like many industrial water pumps! Centrifugal pumps use motor-driven spinning blades to fling water radially outward, just like your fountain does. This is just like the behavior of paint in a spin art machine, or water in a washing machine. (Try peeking inside your washing machine while it’s draining — you’ll see the drum inside spinning very quickly, which flings the excess water out of drum.)&nbsp; The outwards push experienced by the water is called “centrifugal force” — except it’s more accurate to call it a “pseudo force”. You can explore how this works with another pseudo force you’re probably familiar with. Say you’re in a car as it accelerates from zero to sixty — you’ll be pressed back into your seat. If the driver then slams on the brakes, you’ll fly forward. In other words, you get thrown in the direction opposite your acceleration. It’s the same thing with the water in the fountain. It’s being moved in a circle, so the direction of acceleration is towards the center of the circle. The water experiences a push in the opposite direction, and is flung outwards through the straw — and all over the floor!

straw

needle

skewer

clear cups

water

Tape

Straw Fountain

summer

outdoor experiments

family activity

backyard science

Head outside while it’s still warm and learn about the movement of water wheels which are used to convert the energy of falling water into a power source!Take outdoor fun to the next level by building your own <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/bubble-machine-project-kit/3153" target="_self">Bubble Machine</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>. Discover science that really pops — with a bubble-making machine that you engineered yourself!

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Trace the spool onto the lid and cut it out. Then, using the push pin, make a hole in the center just large enough for the dowel to fit through it. 

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Hot glue the lid to one side of the spool. Trim the edge with an exacto knife so that it’s smooth.&nbsp;

If there’s ribbon on your spool, you may want to remove it.

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Lay the cups around the perimeter of the spool so that they are as close as possible. Then, hot glue the cups around the perimeter of the spool.&nbsp;

The size of your spool will determine how many cups you will need. The larger the spool size, the more cups you will add.

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Slide the lid onto the dowel. Then, slide the straw over the dowel.  

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Now, you’re ready to play with your water wheel! Using either a sink or a water pitcher, pour some water over your water wheel and watch it spin! Try to make it slow down or speed up by decreasing or increasing the water pressure. 

What's going on? The water wheel is an ancient device that converts the flow of water into the motion of a wheel. Falling water pushes down on the cups of the water wheel, turning the wheel in one direction. As the cups move around the wheel, they dump out their water, preparing them to be filled back up when they've rotated back to the top of the wheel. Water wheels provided mechanical power to communities around the world starting around 400 BCE, helping people pound wheat into flour or saw logs in half. Today, modified water wheels, known as turbines, can be found inside hydroelectric dams, where they convert the motion of falling water into electricity.

ribbon spool - We used a 3 1/2" diameter plastic ribbon spool

container lid - plastic

marker

Scissors

push pin

dowel - 3/16" diameter

hot glue / hot glue gun

exacto knife

plastic condiment cup (6-12) - clear

pitcher

food coloring (optional)

Water Wheel

easy experiment

experiment

Make a tea bag fly with heat! The flying tea bag experiment is a similar concept to a hot air balloon, but you can do it right at home. This project is simple to create, but impressive to kids and adults alike!Want to learn more about chemistry without the hassle of gathering materials? Explore the science of crystallization with a <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/crystal-chemistry-garden-project-kit/2640" target="_self">Crystal Chemistry Garden</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Prepare your tea bag. Remove the string, staple and tea from the bag. 

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Unfold the bag so that it is a cylinder. We trimmed off the ends so that it would stand flat. Place your tea bag cylinder onto a non-flammable plate

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For Halloween fun, draw a ghost face onto the tea bag before you place it onto the plate! 

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Make your predictions! What do you think will happen once you light the tea bag? Once you are ready, have an adult help you light the top of the teabag cylinder.

81 at-home outdoor activities projects for kids

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