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The project library

Where will your curiosity take you?

Starting points for building, investigating, and discovering. Yours to adapt.

14 starting pointsExplore at your own pace.
Build & investigate
Project30–60 minutesScraps & household supplies

Make a cardboard car

Build a small car you can push, then change the wheels, body, or steering to suit your own idea.

rollingfrictionmotion
An investigation
Project15–30 minutesScrap paper

Build with folded paper

Fold a sheet into a bridge, a little roof, or a shape of your own. See what it can do, then change it.

structurebendingload
Motion exploration
Project15–30 minutesScrap paper

Make a paper spinner

Cut and fold a small paper spinner, let it fall, and try a shape of your own.

fallingrotationair resistance
Sound exploration
Project15–30 minutesA small box & elastic bands

Make a rubber-band sound box

Give a rubber band room to move, listen to its sound, and make an instrument of your own.

vibrationsoundresonance
Notice & investigate
Project10 minutes, then return laterFound materials & daylight

Follow a moving shadow

Give an ordinary object a place in the daylight. Draw its shadow, return later, and see what changed.

lightobservationchange over time
Sound exploration
Project20–40 minutesTwo cups & a little string

Make a string telephone

Join two cups with string, listen with a partner, and find out what interrupts the sound.

vibrationsoundtension
Sewing
A cloth tool roll laid open with individual pockets and a top flapKeep each tool in its own pocket. Fold the top flap down over the exposed ends, then roll from one side across the row of tools. Leave enough slack to roll without straining the seams.Fold flap over the tool endsRoll across the row
ProjectA few hours by handHeavy cloth scraps, thread, and ties

Sew a canvas tool roll

Give brushes, pencils, or small hand tools their own pockets. Unroll it on a bench, find what you need, and tie it up when you leave.

storagesewingcarrying
Kinetic sculpture
A view from the handle side, with the box wall left out to show the wheel lifting a platformSeen from the handle side, with that wall left out. The turning rod points into the picture at the dark centre dot. It turns the wheel, whose top edge lifts the platform and upright rod. Their weight brings them back down. The straw stays fixed to the box; the platform rests loosely on the wheel.Fixed strawPlatformTurning rod seen end-onHandle
ProjectAn afternoonPackaging, dowels & glue

A hand-cranked creature

Turn a crank and make a character rise and fall. Build the movement in plain sight, then give it a world of its own.

mechanismanimationsculpture
Sound & garden
Four spoons hanging separately from a wooden crossbar, with their bowls at the same heightHang each spoon bowl-down from its own cord. Tape grip bands help the cords stay on the handles. Leave about a centimetre between neighbouring bowls so they can meet when they swing.Separate cords · room to swing
ProjectAbout an hourSpare cutlery, a stick & cord

A wind chime from old spoons

Give mismatched spoons a second life on a porch or by a window. Choose the sounds you like and arrange them into your own hanging instrument.

hanging instrumentstrikingsuspension
Bookbinding
An open folded notebook showing the three-hole pamphlet stitchPunch through the nested pages and cover at three places along the fold. The long inside stitch connects the end holes. Return through the centre hole and tie the two ends around that long stitch.Three holes along the foldTie inside
ProjectAbout an hourScrap paper, card & thread

A hand-bound scrap notebook

Turn leftover paper and cereal-box card into a stitched notebook for sketches, lists, recipes, or a gift.

bindingrecordinggift making
Sewing & reuse
A pillowcase tote with a hemmed opening and two reinforced fabric handlesKeep the closed bottom and side seams. The inset shows a flattened corner: align the side and bottom seams, measure 6 cm from the point, and stitch across the resulting 12 cm line. Attach one reinforced handle to each face of the bag.Two handlesReinforced ends
ProjectAn afternoon by handA sound pillowcase & thread

A market tote from a pillowcase

Sew an old pillowcase into a washable bag. Give it a roomy bottom and handles you can repair.

carryingsewingreuse
Game making
A shallow cardboard tray with upright maze walls and a clear route for a ballArrange the walls in a shallow box lid before fixing them down. Leave passages wider than the ball and test the whole route by tilting the tray.Keep a clear routeWalls fixed upright
ProjectA couple of hours, plus glue dryingA box lid, card & a rolling ball

A tilt maze you design

Build a tray game with a route of your own, then steer a ball through it by tipping the board.

game makingrollingconstruction
Growing & useful making
A cutaway bottle planter with an upper growing pot, a lower reservoir, and a cloth wickSeat the inverted upper bottle in the lower reservoir, with its cap clear of the base. A cloth wick reaches from the growing mix into the water. Keep the overflow level at least 2 cm below the cap, and shade the reservoir with an opaque sleeve.Growing mixWickHoleWater below the cap
ProjectAbout an hour, then daily careA clean bottle, cloth & a small plant

A bottle planter with a cloth wick

Make a small home for a young plant. A strip of cloth carries water from the bottom of the bottle into the pot above.

seedling containerwickingwater reservoir
Woodworking
An open wooden tote with tall ends, lower side boards, and a dowel handleThe end boards stand on the base; the long side boards fit outside its edges. The handle passes through both ends. Dry-fit and clamp the pieces before drilling and fastening.Handle through both endsSides outside the base
ProjectAn afternoon, plus glue curingSound scrap boards and a few fittings

A wooden carry tote

Make a carrier for paints, seed packets, drawing supplies, or your repair kit. Shape the ends and arrange the inside around what you carry.

storagecarryingwoodworking

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