Simple scientific makes for kids

Over the years, I’ve come across many examples of simple toys that can be made from things you might have lying around the house. The joy to be had from such toys isn’t just from playing with them, but from making them. It is tremendously satisfying and empowering to make your own rubber-band powered boat or balancing bird instead of buying it from a shop.

Strictly speaking, a ‘machine’ is something that does something useful or makes things easier for us, like a car or a vacuum cleaner. But I think that making contraptions and toys provides fun and wonder — and this also makes them useful. It’s not just the finished product that’s useful; the process of making these machines, and getting them to do what they’re supposed to, will help you understand how they work in a way that simply playing with them wouldn’t.

There are other benefits to making things for yourself, including developing your creativity, scientific thinking, problem-solving, and practical skills. I think we all have an innate desire to make things, but often lack the opportunity to do so in the modern world, where so much of what we consume and use is made for us. I don’t want to make any promises, but constructing ‘marvellous machines’ might just bring you joy in ways you haven’t imagined, and make you better equipped to go out and help the world with your own ideas and skills.