200 Quick & easy experiments

Crazy chemistry experiments

Electronics & Robotics

Engineering & Building

Motion & Mechanics

Anatomy & Biology

Toy & game design

Math made fun

STEM Activities

750+ Quick & easy craft ideas

Recycled creations

Fun & functional projects

Jewelry & Fashion design

Handmade cards & gifts

Art & Creativity

Fun & Games

Hands-on learning

Sound & Music

Pretend play

Play & Learn

Kitchen science

Fun with food

Sweet & salty snacks

Treats & Dessert

Cooking for kids

Cooking & Baking

Animals & Bugs

Plants & Rocks

Seasons & Weather

Radical rainbows

Outdoor Adventures

Space exploration

Nature & Adventure

Birthday fun

Pi Day

Earth Day

Easter

Holiday & Events

easy experiment

physics

space

summer

Water squirters work by pressurizing reservoirs of water with air. As you pump the squirter, it gradually adds air to the reservoir, increasing the pressure. When you pull the trigger, the pressure is allowed to release and a stream of water shoots out! In this DIY project, we'll learn how to use the exact sample principles found in water squirters to launch a water rocket sky-high! Follow along with these simple steps and you'll be blasting off in no time.&nbsp;Want to make a bottle rocket without the hassle of gathering materials? Blast off with a <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/bottle-rocket-blaster/6489" target="_self">Bottle Rocket Blaster</a> crate from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>! It includes a step-by-step video tutorial link, illustrated instructions, and all the materials you'll need!&nbsp;

a471be05b30ce.jpg

Drill a small hole through the center of your cork stopper. The hole should be just smaller than the diameter of your pump needle.

ae65df077d7f3.jpg

 Wrap your cork in electrical tape until it fits snugly in the bottle opening.

a8bde292577e1.jpg

 Press your pump needle through the hole in the cork. Make sure the thicker end of the cork is pressed on first. 

a06568b25fe4c.jpg

Use a small piece of clay to seal the cork around the pump needle. Make sure you don't clog the needle opening. 

ae53503d772be.jpg

If you'd like, create rocket fins and a nose cone out of scrap plastic or coated paper. Color them with a marker to give your rocket some extra pizzazz! 

ac80a88e4ed67.jpg

In preparation for launch, fill your bottle part-way with water. Grab a friend and find a wide open space to launch your rocket. Have your friend press the cork into the bottle and flip it so the nose cone is pointing upwards and away from you. The bottle should gently rest in one hand and the pump should be firmly held in the other. When your friend and rocket are ready, start pumping! The pressure will start to build and after a few seconds, your rocket will blast off into the air!

What’s going on?
 The pressure bottle rocket works thanks to Newton’s third law of motion, which states that for every action, there is a reaction. As you pump up your rocket with air, pressure builds up inside. Eventually, this pressure pushes the rocket off of the cork and bicycle pump, and expels the water in the bottle downward — this is the action. The reaction to this downward movement of the water is the rocket’s own upwards movement, sending it high into the sky.&nbsp;

The world record for the greatest altitude achieved by a pressure bottle rocket (using only water and air) is 2,723 ft (830m) - which is just over half a mile! It may be simple, but the pressure bottle rocket is quite effective, and it is the basis for the design of rockets that are launched into outer space.

cork stopper

1 liter bottle (empty)

clay

electrical tape

water

drill

bike or ball pump

scrap plastic bottles or sheets (optional)

permanent marker (optional)

Pressure Bottle Rocket

winter crafts

winter

easy craft

handmade gifts

printable

Bring the stars to you and learn about the amazing night sky by creating your own mini-constellation jar that can light up. Download our constellation printable <a href="https://icdn.kiwico.com/diy_ad/Kiwi-Crate-Mini-Constellation-Jar-Printable.pdf">here</a>.&nbsp;Or for some winter-themed fun, you can create your own light-up jar of snowflakes!Help your little one build their creative confidence with <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store">KiwiCo's</a> <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/rainbow-air-dry-clay-project-kit/5612">Rainbow Air-Dry Clay</a>. This kid-friendly clay is soft, not sticky, so it’s easy to handle and shape into anything you can imagine.

a98036287d5ab.jpg

Use a ruler to measure the height of your jar to figure out how tall it is. Then, use a piece of string to find the circumference by measuring around the mouth. Add half an inch to your circumference measurement.&nbsp;Cut a piece of aluminum foil based on the measurements of your jar. We used a jar that measured 5 inches x 7 ½ inches.

Have a grownup&nbsp;help or carefully supervise any cutting necessary for this project.

aae18bba529ed.jpg

Place the foil flat on the cardboard and put the constellation printable on top.  

af1aa00ac1a3b.jpg

Snowflake Jar Option: Cut out a few paper snowflakes and trace them onto a piece of black construction paper. 

acf5012ce320a.jpg

Choose a constellation from the printable and use the pushpin to create it by carefully poke holes through the paper and foil. 

Choose another constellation and create it on a different spot of the foil. Try to learn the names and shapes of each constellation that you make!

a906dbe6b4027.jpg

Snowflake Jar Option: Cut out the shapes you traced onto the construction paper using an X-acto knife. 

a47c972244cae.jpg

After, take your foil and wrap it around the toilet paper roll to give it a curved surface. Remove the toilet paper roll.

ac3d79a554f52.jpg

Snowflake Jar Option: Use a stapler to form the construction paper into a cylindrical shape and add some tissue paper inside the construction paper cylinder to give your shining snowflakes some color! 

ab809d3acb6e3.jpg

Carefully place the curved foil into the jar. (Try not to crinkle your designs!) 

ab60ba75bba6d.jpg

Snowflake Jar Option: Carefully place the paper cylinder into the jar.

a7bb0981e9f48.jpg

Turn on the tea light and place it inside the jar. Screw on the lid, turn off the lights, and check out your new constellations (or snowflakes) shining in the dark!

Use your mini-constellation jar outside as a small nightlight, or use it to help you learn about the night sky.

If you enjoyed making this project, check out our Kiwi Crate line for more hands-on science projects!

glass jar

aluminum foil

Ruler

string

pushpins

cardboard

toilet paper tube

electric tea light

constellation printable

black construction paper (optional)

pencil (optional)

craft knife (optional)

stapler (optional)

Light-Up Mason Jar

space crafts

clay project

arts & crafts

craft

pretend play

Become a rocket scientist by building your own clay rocket with air dry clay and an old toilet paper tube!

Clay_Rocket_1.jpg

Missing supplies? Get them from <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/cp/supplies" target="_blank">the KiwiCo Store</a>!

Clay_Rocket_2.jpg

Grab a ball of white clay about the size of your palm, and use the rolling pin to roll it out until it is long enough for it to wrap around the toilet paper tube.

Clay_Rocket_4.jpg

Use the clay knife tool to cut the rolled out clay to the height of the toilet paper tube.

Clay_Rocket_5.jpg

Wrap the clay around the toilet paper tube.

Clay_Rocket_8.jpg

Trace your circular container/lid onto your colorful construction paper and cut out this shape. This will become your rocket’s nose cone.

Clay_Rocket_10.jpg

Roll the shape into a cone and tape it into place. Use the toilet paper tube to figure out how wide of a cone you want. Add it to the top of your rocket!

Clay_Rocket_11.jpg

Cut out two triangles for rocket fins.

Clay_Rocket_12.jpg

Squish the fins into the sides of the rocket. You may need to add more clay or glue to secure them.

Clay_Rocket_13.jpg

Decorate! We used some white paper & a colored marker to create a window for our rocket.

Clay_Rocket_14.jpg

Most rockets are made of 2 or 3 big pieces called “stages”. When the fuel from one stage is used up, the rocket lets go of the stage so it can lighten its load and travel further!
Just like our clay rocket, all rockets have nose cones. Rockets with pointy nose cones (like ours) are designed to fly at supersonic speeds, that’s faster than the speed of sound! Round nose cones are used for slower rockets and most airplanes.

White Air-Dry Clay

Clay Tools Set

Toilet Paper Roll

Circular Container for Tracing (~7 cm wide)

Construction Paper

Pen or Pencil

Tape

Scissors

Markers, Colored Pencils, or Paint (optional)

Clay Rocket

Learn more about the planets in our solar system with this charming pom-pom mobile! A perfect DIY gift for the babies (or space-loving grownups) in your life.

pompomsolarysystemmaterials.jpg

Missing any of these supplies? Get them from <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/cp/supplies" target="_blank">the KiwiCo Store</a>!

Yarn_Tassel_2.jpg

Reference your Pom-Pom Set Quick Start Guide for detailed steps on how to make pom poms.

PomPom_SolarSystem_3.jpg

For Mercury, Venus, and Mars, use the smallest pom-pom winders & trim guides, and the color of yarn that best matches those planets.

PomPom_SolarSystem_4.jpg

For Earth, mix green and blue yarn when winding to get a marbled look! When you’re ready, use the second smallest pom-pom trim guide.

PomPom_SolarSystem_6.jpg

For Jupiter, mix red, brown, and orange yarn on the largest winder. Then shape it with the largest pom-pom trim guide.

PomPom_SolarSystem_7.jpg

For Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, use the medium sized pom-pom winder and trim guide.

PomPom_SolarSystem_8.jpg

To make rings for Saturn and Uranus, trace the pom-pom guide that matches their size on a piece of felt.

PomPom_SolarSystem_9.jpg

Draw a second, slightly larger circle around the one you traced. (Uranus’s ring should be slightly smaller than Saturn’s). Then cut out the rings.

PomPom_SolarSystem_10.jpg

Slip the rings over the planets. Secure with two dots of glue on either side of the planet.

PomPom_SolarSystem_11.jpg

Prepare your hoop for hanging! Tie four lengths of yarn to equidistant edges of the hoop.

PomPom_SolarSystem_12.jpg

Next, Tie the four strings together in a loop. Hang and adjust as needed to get a level hoop.

PomPom_SolarSystem_13.jpg

Attach your planets to your mobile hanger using more yarn or fishing wire. For planets with rings, slip the wire between the ring and the planet before tying your knot.

Tip: It’s much easier to do this when the mobile hoop&nbsp;is already hanging!

PomPom_SolarSystem_Hero1.jpg

Our solar system is so big that scientists had to make up a new unit to measure how big it is! An AU (astronomical unit) is the distance from the Earth to the Sun (about 93 million miles). The furthest planets are about 50 AU out (more than 46 billion miles), but even that’s only a tiny part of the solar system. The edge of the solar system is 50,000 AU away.

Pom-Pom Maker Set

Jewel Tone Yarn Set

Neutral Yarn Set

Rainbow Yarn Set

Stick or Hoop to hang your mobile from

Felt

Glue

Fishing Wire (optional)

Pom-Pom Solar System

household craft

homemade craft

Give your walls an out-of-this-world accent with a space banner!

Space_Banner_1.jpg

Missing any of these supplies? Get them from <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/cp/supplies" target="_blank">the KiwiCo Store</a>!

Space_Banner_2.jpg

Paint the background of the banner black. Let dry.

Space_Banner_3.jpg

Use a toothbrush to flick white (or other color) paint onto the banner to make stars. Let dry.

Space_Banner_4.jpg

Space_Banner_5.jpg

We used a toothpick to clean up the edges and give the planet a marbled look.

Space_Banner_6.jpg

Canvas Banner Set

Rainbow 3D Paint Set

Black Acrylic Paint

Toothbrushes

Space Banner

painting

Bring outer space into your home with some paint, construction paper, and an old toothbrush!

23 best space projects for kids

Screen-free fun!