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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DIY science projects that elementary school boys will love! Ideas you can make with everyday materials (151–160)
Boomerang made from paper cups
Let me introduce a unique boomerang that might boost kids’ reflexes.
This boomerang is made from paper cups, but it’s apparently hard to catch when it returns—so it could help train reflexes.
Fix and connect the bottoms of two paper cups with cellophane tape.
Insert a bent paper clip into the joined section.
Set the paper-cup boomerang onto a launcher made from a chopstick with a rubber band fixed to it, and then just launch it.
It takes some technique to throw and catch, but mastering it might be part of the fun.
Crafts you can play with
In this Reiwa era, where digital devices have surrounded us since the day we were born, it’s nice to enjoy some analog play from time to time.
So here’s a summer craft you can make and play with right away: the “Wobbly Tree.” Glue a branching tree onto half of a toy capsule.
Hang rubber bands from the branches one by one, and the person who knocks the tree over loses.
If you substitute the toy capsule base with something else, you can make an even bigger tree.
There are also videos introducing other playable crafts, so if you’re interested, be sure to check them out.
How to make a basic robot
Build a robot with your own hands! Here are some ideas for making a basic robot.
These days, we often see robots active in various roles.
In fast-food restaurants, there are robots that carry food and drinks, and some households even keep robot pets.
This time, let’s try making a simple robot.
You’ll need items like a ruler, scissors, a pen, thick paper or cardboard, batteries, a battery holder, a switch, a motor, and wires.
Be sure to work together with a teacher or a guardian.
A coin disappears!? A mysterious piggy bank
The charm of a piggy bank is that your money accumulates little by little—seeing it pile up and feeling it get heavier brings joy.
This is a curious piggy bank that deliberately takes away that charm: the coins you put in seem to disappear.
The piggy bank you’ll make is a simple one with a window so you can see inside, and it’s structured so that you can also see a decorative pattern within.
Before closing the lid with a coin slot, you install a mirror to divide the interior into two blocks, and that’s how you create the illusion of the coins vanishing.
It’s important to assemble it while carefully considering the placement of the interior patterns and the angle of the mirror so that nothing feels out of place.
ukulele
Make your own ukulele, an instrument often played in Hawaiian music! It’s shaped like a small guitar, with four strings that produce a cute, tinkling sound.
Build the ukulele body by assembling cardboard into a 3D form.
Use chopsticks for the pegs where the strings hook on, and make the strings from cut rubber bands.
Tightening the rubber bands raises the pitch, and loosening them lowers it.
I said “shaped like a guitar,” but in reality any shape is fine—feel free to add your own originality there.
Ideally, let’s take it far enough that you can even play a whole song!
cardboard cooler
In a sweltering summer, there’s no reason not to make this—try a cardboard cooler! Take a piece of cardboard with holes, mount a battery-powered propeller on the back, and insert water-filled, frozen plastic bottles into the holes.
When you switch it on, the propeller spins and pushes air through, and cool air comes out the front.
It’s a simple mechanism: the warm air taken in gets cooled by the frozen bottles and is blown out—but it works really well.
You can buy kits online, but I think it’s also worth trying to build one from scratch.
Hands-on science projects that elementary school boys will love! Ideas you can make with everyday materials (161–170)
hovercraft
How about making a plastic-bag hovercraft? Despite how it looks, the way it glides smoothly is really fun.
Punch a hole in the center of a plastic bag and seal the original opening with clear tape.
On the side opposite the hole, attach a handle using stiff paper and duct tape—and you’re done! When you move the handle up and down, air flows in through the hole and inflates the bag.
If you then push it forward in that state, it will glide along.
This happens because friction is reduced.
Be sure to also summarize ideas like “why this happens” and “what changes if you alter the size of the hole,” too!