PROJECT LIST

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Skittles game
 
(Nursery / Reception)
 The simplest project of the lot - but with plenty of fun guaranteed. It consists of a card ramp and any number of 'skittles' which can be made easy or difficult to knock over. It can make an ideal introduction to sawing wood or the wood can be substituted very easily.

Pop-up troll

(Key Stage 1)

This uses a simple linkage to make the 'troll' spring up when the end of the wooden beam is pressed down.
Of course, it doesn't have to be a troll, but this IS ideal for setting up under a bridge - where it can lie in wait for a passing billygoat!

A
proud mum

(Key Stage 1)

Push up the rod and the mother kangaroo will proudly display her youngster. This simple model, using levers and linkages, is made from card and paper fasteners. Templates are provided to help with the shapes - but there's a host of other animals waiting to be created.


Gravity motor

(Key Stage 2)

Use a falling weight to drive a simple machine. The basic project requires only simple cutting and gluing skills. It is shown here fitted with an adjustable airbrake to control the speed. Within the capabilities of younger children but developments to gain more sustained power output, or to change the design from being hand-held, are perhaps too difficult for KS1 and early KS2



Paper rod
puppet

(Key Stage 2)

 All puppets are fun but the rod puppet is perhaps the best. it's more expressive than a glove puppet yet much easier to operate than a string puppet. Rodney here is made almost entirely from thin coloured card with artstraws and string for the arms. He's not much of a dancer but he can tell a good story!


Mechanical
hammer

(Key Stage 2)

 The worksheets show a single hammer while the picture here shows a multiple hammer [x4]. The single hammer is very easy to build, but for multiples a greater level of accuracy is required to make the units fit easily together. Great fun to build and to play with. Single hammer can become a nodding animal with a paper face - multiple hammers allow for fascinating exploration of complex rhythms.


Steerable
vehicle

(Key Stage 2)

 Not much to look at perhaps, but a very useful vehicle for all sorts of investigation and development of wheels and motion. The basic frame can be constructed by experienced boys and girls in 5 minutes. Leaving lots of time for the bits that work! Ideal for fitting a simple battery drive and plenty of room between the rear 'forks' for a gear box or a cone of pulleys. Light enough to be wind driven (though you might need longer axles or counterweights for sailing across the wind.


One-string
fiddle

(Key Stage 2)

 A musical instrument capable of playing a tune. This model allows you to experiment with a variety of plastic containers as ready-made sound boxes. You can pluck the string - or 'bow' the string - to produce the notes.