DIY science projects that elementary school boys will love: ideas you can make with everyday materials
For a summer vacation independent research craft project, you’ll want ideas that really grab boys’ interest.
In this article, we introduce craft ideas that boys can get absorbed in—like making a capsule toy (gachapon) machine out of cardboard, creating genuine fishing gear with a reel, and handcrafting air hockey or a basketball game.
They all look impressive yet can be made with everyday materials.
How about creating fun summer memories by playing with your favorite project together with friends?
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- You can make them with cardboard! Cool katanas & swords
Hands-on science projects that elementary school boys will love! Ideas you can make with everyday materials (61–70)
High-performance Gatling gun made of disposable chopsticks
If a regular rubber band gun isn’t exciting enough for you, why not try making this Gatling-style version? The base is cardboard; for the rotating center section use chopsticks, a plastic wrap tube, and twine, and for the handle use a toilet paper tube.
It takes patience—cutting and layering parts to glue together, and attaching chopsticks at equal intervals around the wrap tube—but each individual step is simple.
By running twine across the central chopstick section and setting rubber bands over it, the twine gets pulled as it rotates, launching the rubber bands.
Rubber band gun with two materials
Here’s a simple rubber band gun idea you can make with about three pairs of disposable chopsticks and around ten rubber bands.
Split all the chopsticks into single sticks; leave three as they are, and cut the rest into three different lengths.
If you use a utility knife for cutting, handle it with care.
It’s also a good idea to sand the cut edges for safety.
Combine the cut chopsticks to build the body, grip, and trigger, and finally create a notch at the front end of the body where the rubber band will hook.
The body tends to be long and unstable, so reinforce it by bracing it from below with shorter chopstick pieces.
A rapid-fire chopstick rubber-band gun
This is a rubber band gun made from chopsticks, finished with a mechanism that allows rapid fire by combining small pieces cut from disposable chopsticks with rubber bands.
The base is essentially a bundle of chopsticks tied together with rubber bands, to which you attach parts such as the rubber band hook (which serves as the ammunition), the grip, and the trigger components.
Although the structure is complex, the only tools you need are chopsticks, rubber bands, and scissors, so once you get used to the steps, it feels fairly simple.
It’s also important to firmly secure each part so it can withstand the tension of the loaded rubber bands.
Water freezes the instant you touch it.
This is an experiment using sodium acetate where water freezes the instant you touch it.
Dissolve sodium acetate in water, heat it, and then cool it in the refrigerator.
After that, put a little of the remaining sodium acetate on your fingertip and lightly touch the solution—watching it freeze in a chain reaction is really fascinating.
It’s a good idea to take photos of the freezing process.
About an hour is plenty of time.
This experiment is more suitable for upper elementary school students.
Let’s make an original map
Explore your town and make your very own map! Walk around with your parents and add your observations and discoveries to the map as you go.
It might be fun to pick a theme, too.
For example, you could look for houses with the same family name as yours, or mark the locations of mailboxes.
You might uncover lots of new things about the place you live every day.
Since you’ll be walking around outside in the hot summer, don’t forget to stay hydrated! Give it a try with the whole family!
Easy! A chopstick rubber band gun that can even use hair ties
This rubber band gun made from disposable chopsticks is very simple—you just bundle the chopsticks together and fasten them with rubber bands.
First, stack four chopsticks and secure them in two places with rubber bands.
To catch the rubber band that will serve as the projectile, leave the top and bottom sticks of the four sticking out a bit longer.
Attach a clothespin together with the topmost rubber band at the rear.
The rubber band projectile is gripped by both the clothespin and the chopsticks; when you pull the clothespin, the band shoots out.
Try using a hair tie as the projectile—it won’t hurt much even if it hits you.
A three-step chopstick rubber-band gun
This is a chopstick rubber-band gun that you can make with a simple procedure: use chopsticks as the base and attach a clothespin with a rubber band.
Insert the metal part of the clothespin into the gap between the chopsticks, then secure the clothespin in that position with a rubber band.
After that, to keep the chopsticks from spreading apart, wrap a rubber band around the tips of the chopsticks, and it’s done.
The mechanism is that you launch a rubber band stretched from the tip by opening and closing the clothespin.
The appeal is that you can make a chopstick rubber-band gun easily with only a few materials.