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Art Cars
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In this activity, learners design miniature cars. Learners can create a telephone car, soccer car, merry-go-round car, or any other theme car they can imagine.

Cup Draw
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In this activity, learners construct drawing machines using a cup, some markers, and a cricket to control the movement. A programmed LEGO RCX or Cricket is required for this high-tech version.

Puppet Power
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In this mechanical engineering activity, learners design shadow puppets with moving parts and use them to tell stories.

Crank It Up
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In this engineering activity, learners explore simple machines and then build cardboard automata using cams.

What's the Buzz?
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In this activity, learners construct a playable kazoo from inexpensive materials. They will experience how vibration creates sound waves and music.

Cup Draw (Low Tech)
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In this activity, learners construct drawing machines using a cup, some markers, and a battery pack. The markers act as "legs" for the machine, making a drawing that records as it moves.

Suminagashi: Floating Ink Paper Marbling
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In this activity, learners try to float ink on the surface of water to create a pattern and then capture it with absorbent paper.

Motion Picture
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During this hands-on activity, learners are briefly exposed to moviemaking and animation, when they create their own thaumatropes.

Kinetic Sculpture
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In this design challenge activity, learners build a tower that’s at least 12 inches high with two or more parts that move (spin, sway, or flap) in the wind.

A Towering Achievement
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In this experience, learners use the internet to research physical details about Chihuly's Fireworks of Glass "Tower" and "Ceiling" and consider the decisions Chihuly had to make as he was planning th

Hang Time
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Learn how to make and fly a paper helicopter! This simple activity includes a template (for the copter "blades") and instructions for folding, flying, and testing designs.

Simple Pop-Up Mechanisms
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In this activity, learners construct three quick and simple mechanisms to start building a pop-up book. Learners fold, cut, and glue paper to make a bird beak, parallelogram, and V-fold.

Paper making: a craft and a chemical engineering major
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In this activity, learners explore the question "What is paper?" Learners discover the processes and materials required to make paper while experimenting with different recycled fibers and tools.

Set It Straight
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In this activity, learners build a simple tabletop seesaw to test how different variables (the position of the fulcrum, distance, weight) affect its balance under increasing weight loads.

Micro Automata
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In this activity, learners build small animated toys that move.

Cranking Bird
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In this activity, learners build a mini crank machine to make a bird "fly." This engineering activity introduces learners to automata, rotational motion, cranks and cams.

Make a Mobile!
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In this activity, learners make mobiles to explore the concepts of balance, counterbalance, weight, and counterweight.

Cardboard Opaque Projector
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In this activity, learners construct a projector out of cardboard to view their favorite images (such as storybook illustrations) on the wall.

Bearings for Your Whirligig
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Experiment with friction and make bearings for a whirligig! This activity is a nice introduction to friction and bearings and demonstrates why bearings are useful for spinning.

Jumpy Dolls
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In this activity, learners are challenged to design and construct a jointed figure that moves in a motion (something like jumping jacks) when a string is pulled.