DIY science projects that elementary school boys will love: ideas you can make with everyday materials

A flying octopus? Tako-copter

A flying octopus? A toy like a bamboo-copter made from a paper cup: the 'TacoCopter' #easyCraft #paperCup #flyingCraft

It’s a toy that combines paper cups and a round chopstick to spin like a bamboo-copter and soar into the sky.

By spreading “wings” that catch the wind and coloring it mainly red, it takes on a curious form—a flying octopus.

You’ll use two paper cups and a round chopstick: attach the chopstick and the octopus’s facial parts to a paper cup with only the bottom left to create a launcher.

Then cut slits into the other paper cup, spread it out to form propeller-like blades, and attach it to the launcher to finish.

Fine-tune the propeller angles to make your octopus fly even higher.

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kappamaki

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Creeper made from a milk carton

[Elementary School Summer Crafts & Independent Research] Make a Creeper from a Milk Carton—with a Head-Popping Mechanism!

Minecraft is a hugely popular game among kids.

Creepers are characters that appear in Minecraft and explode when they get close to the player.

Let’s make a craft that captures that feature using an empty milk carton.

Besides a milk carton, prepare green plastic bottle caps, bamboo skewers, and oil-based clay as well.

Cut the milk carton and wrap it with green vinyl tape to make the Creeper’s body.

Then cut the body section further and attach parts.

Use another milk carton for the head along with vinyl string or rubber bands to create a mechanism that “explodes.” Because kids use fine motor skills to build it, it helps improve their concentration.

Once it’s finished and displayed at school, you can almost hear friends saying, “Wow, that’s awesome!”

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Nakajima Junko

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locked treasure chest

Lockable Treasure Chest [Cardboard Crafting Recipe]

Treasure chests are kind of exciting, aren’t they? And this one even comes with a lock! It’s perfect for curious first graders because they can make it while learning how a lock works.

The process is to use cardboard to create the box, lid, and key parts, then assemble them.

As long as you cut and prepare the parts correctly, you can just glue them together and the build will go smoothly.

Since you’ll be using a hot glue gun to bond the cardboard, be careful to avoid burns while working.

There’s a URL in the video description where you can download the templates, so be sure to check it and give it a try!

pinhole camera

[Experiment 127] Handmade Camera / Summer Vacation Independent Research Craft / Pinhole Camera – Denjirō Yonemura [Official] / Science Experiments

Let’s try making a pinhole camera, a classic for independent research projects.

A pinhole camera is a camera that forms an image using a tiny pinhole instead of a camera lens.

There are methods using a milk carton or a paper cup, and it’s surprisingly easy to make.

If you choose a pinhole camera for your project, after building it you should observe how the image actually appears, think about why it appears that way, and compile your findings into a report.

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Hane Keisuke

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seaweed specimen

Preparation of Specimen

This is an idea to make specimens using seaweed, similar to the ones often made with flowers and plants.

When you think of seaweed specimens, you might imagine they’d get brittle and crack, or that it would be hard to remove the moisture since they’re from the water.

First, wash the seaweed thoroughly and carefully to remove the salt.

Then place it on a plastic base, arrange it into shape, and dry it thoroughly.

The trick is not to let it dry as-is, but to press it with cardboard or blotting paper, changing the paper frequently, and dry it while blowing air from the side.

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utatane

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Bug catching with a banana trap

Summer Vacation Independent Study: Collecting Stag Beetles with a Banana Trap by Hitorist

When it comes to classic summer vacation science projects, bug catching is a staple.

Sure, you can grab a net and head into the fields and hills—that’s perfectly fine—but you won’t always catch the exact insects you’re after, like rhinoceros beetles or stag beetles.

So how about trying a banana trap for your bug catching? Cut a plastic bottle, flip the top part upside down and fix it in place, then put a banana inside.

The idea is that insects are lured in by the sweet smell of the banana and drop into the bottle, and because the entrance is shaped like a one-way trap, they can’t get back out.

Go snag a big one!

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Araki Jakkan

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Radio-controlled car

Let's make an RC car out of cardboard!

When you think of RC cars, you probably picture ones sold at toy stores, but this is a hands-on science project that tickles a boy’s adventurous spirit by making one from scratch.

The body is made from cardboard, and a small motor provides the power.

If you follow the video as-is, you’ll need to do wiring with a soldering iron, so it’s geared toward upper-grade students.

Kids who love machines or vehicles will definitely enjoy it.

It’d be fun to build them with friends and have races, too.

There’s also a research aspect—like investigating how to make it go faster.

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Araki Jakkan

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