Construction Projects For Kids

Looking for an idea for a project? You'll find a mix of all kinds of projects, crafts and otherwise interesting stuff. Some are hard and require teamwork. For your first project try something easier than the airplane and be sure to check with the NRC, and more importantly mom, before building the nuclear power plant.

• Bat House

  Hanging the bat house near a pond or stream may increase your chances of attracting bats to use it. DO NOT hang bat house in tree or shady area. Make sure it receives 6-8 hours of sunlight each day.
  
  
  

• Bath Bombs

  Bath Bombs are like giant alka-seltzers for your bath - they spin, whirl and swirl in your bath while releasing scent and skin-softening agents. They make bath time SUPER fun!
  
  
  

• Bubble-Powered Rocket

  Eventually, something has to give! So the canister pops its top (which is really its bottom, since it's upside down). All the water and gas rush down and out, pushing the canister up and up, along with the rocket attached to it.
  
  
  

• Butterfly Bower

  "Just because its not a real butterfly in your world doesn't mean its not real in mine ..." A bower may seem like a tent or a sunshade except for one important difference. A bower is beautiful. It is adorned with diaphanous draperies, butterflies, flowers and petals entwined in ivy, bright flowing ribbons and colorful banners or panels.
  
  
  

• Chinese Parade Dragon

  Grant's Class was learning about dragons and decided to make a large dragon for a school parade. Have children line up under the dragon holding up head and using hoops to hold the body. Head and hoops are pushed up and down to give the dragon the flowing, life like appearance. Have fun on parade.
  
  
  

• Dream Catcher

  Dream catchers made of willow and sinew are for children, and they are not meant to last. Eventually the willow dries out and the tension of the sinew collapses the dream catcher. That's supposed to happen. It belies the temporary-ness of youth.
  
  
  

• Hand Prints

  Children love to leave hand prints in all the wrong places. Here is a wonderful poem and a great idea of where a child should leave some hand prints.
  
  
  

• Hieroglyphic Codes

  Now is your chance to create your own picture alphabet and send secret messages that only your friends can decode. Before you begin, look at the hieroglyphs on these ancient American objects.
  
  
  

• Hot Air Balloon

  Here's How To Make A 4-Foot Tall Balloon That Really Flies! Hot air balloons fly best on still, cool mornings. You must have a large space to launch your balloon because, like the real thing, it is at the mercy of the wind, except that there is no one controlling it. The balloon in these plans rarely goes above the top of houses and usually flies about 50 yards. This size balloon can also be flown indoors.
  
  
  

• Igloo

  Building an igloo is easy and fun. And the igloo is a great place to spend the night on a small 'expedition' in the mountains. Much warmer than a tent, and can be built just about anywhere.
  
  
  

• Light Bulb

  The electric light bulb works because you have made a complete circuit with electrical current flowing out from the battery, through the filament and back to the battery.
  
  
  

• Nanorover

  Roving a mini-"planet" calls for a "mini-rover." The Japanese are sending a spacecraft to Asteroid 4660 Nereus in 2002. With the spacecraft will be a sample return vehicle and a little rover just a couple of inches high. The "nanorover" ("nano" meaning very tiny). You can build a nanorover too.
  
  
  

• Native American Mandala

  They are sacred symbols of the Universe. In many tribes, they are variations of dance shields used by the Plains Nations. They are adorned with designs and fetishes that have special meaning to the owner and are meant to bring them happiness and prosperity. Some use the mandala for meditation and prayer.
  
  
  

• Nuclear Power Plant

  To build a nuclear reactor, what you need is some mildly enriched uranium. Typically, the uranium is formed into pellets with approximately the same diameter as a dime and a length of an inch or so. The pellets are arranged into long rods, and the rods are collected together into bundles.
  
  
  

• Paper Peace Crane

  Sadako was two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. She was not burned, but radiation poisoning caused her to contract leukemia at the age of twelve. Hospitalized, she began folding paper cranes; she folded more than a thousand paper cranes with the help of friends, hoping she would get well. She died several months later.
  
  
  

• Pinhole Camera

  Isn't it amazing what an oatmeal box can do? Here are the positive print and original "paper film" negative of my hand sticking out from a pile of leaves. I prefer the oatmeal box as a camera because of the wide-angle effect it gives its pictures.
  
  
  

• Printmaking

  Wash the fish and the trays they came in. Each fish needs it's own tray so you may have to use plastic trays too. Procedure is to paint directly on the fish covering every part. Lift a print by placing the newsprint on top of the fish and carefully patting the paper to blot every part of the fish.
  
  
  

• Puzzle Pouches

  So far we've learned that puzzle pouches are now made by Mohawk and are sold in craft stores, but still we didn't know much about the Native American history or styles of this kind of bag.
  
  
  

• Quaker Oats Box Crystal Radio

  On this page you will find complete plans for The Quaker Oats box set. These plans are excerpted from The Crystal Set Handbook, by Philip N. Anderson.
  
  
  

• Sandbox

  For backyard play equipment a sandbox is good place to start! Children can have hours of fun in a sandbox using their imaginations, building castles, towns or cities.
  
  
  

• Shortwave Receiver

  This project combines two popular themes from radio history—crystal radios and shortwave (SW) listening. It's the latest addition to our "Radio Wrinkles" section, designed from scratch by resident engineer Walter Heskes.
  
  
  

• Sidewalk Paint

  This environmentally friendly sidewalk paint takes the place of the traditional sidewalk chalk. Its also very, very inexpensive! You can make you standard shades of red, green, yellow, and blue; or, mix and match to create other shades.
  
  
  

• Slime - Institutional or Home Brewed

  Completed Slime will dry out, so if you wish it to last keep it in an air-tight jar or container. Do Not get on clothing, or your choice of coloring agents may stain. Slime will get dirty if dropped on the floor, so respect your slime. Do not flush, or put down a drain. Disposal methods include allowing to dry out and tossing the dry husk into the trash, or passing it on to a friend, you never have enough slime.
  
  
  

• Solar Box Cookers

  Solar cooking is a delightful alternative to conventional cooking methods. The solar cookers available today really work and they deserve serious evaluation by a much larger audience. For 40 years, small groups of people have been using and refining some very good designs.
  
  
  

• Solar System

  Each planet is listed in order from the sun, with size and color information to help in picking out bowl sizes for the circles, and picking out paint colors. For more information about each planet go to http://www.solarviews.com/eng/homepage.htm.
  
  
  

• Steam-Powered "Rocket" Boat

  It's a law of physics that says "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." What this means is that the steam escaping out the hole in the cork is an action in one direction. The reaction is that the escaping steam will push the boat forward.
  
  
  

• String Figures

  Maybe you already know how to do Cat's Cradle and a few other string figures? If not, then you can learn to make some string figures now. If you can already do some, then why not learn a few more and teach your friends how to do them?
  
  
  

• Telescope

  We describe below how to construct two telescopes. The first one is simpler to build, but is important for understanding the solutions adopted in the second one, which is perfected and optimized for astronomical observations.
  
  
  

• Tie Dye Tee-shirts

  For the purposes of simplicity, we chose to use one color per garment, rather than multiple colors that are so often seen. You can also use colored garments and use a contrasting dye color to achieve the same results.
  
  
  

• Trash Puppet

  It's fun to make your own puppets and even put on puppet shows. But what do you make them out of? Well, look around–you probably have most of the materials you need right in your own trash can and recycling bin! Try this one, then see what else you can create!
  
  
  

• Ugly Quilts

  An ugly quilt is a sleeping bag that's been made from scraps, old clothes, bedspreads, and any material you can spare. It is an inexpensive way to make a difference in a homeless person's life.
  
  
  

• Volcano

  Build a real working volcano - Now we're going to get a little messy. In this experiment we build a real working volcano. After mixing just the right amount of ingredients together, we'll add the final item to make our volcano 'blow its top' spewing red lava down the sides.
  
  
  

• Volkswagen Beetle

  Create your own Oval Beetle from Paper! Print and cut these pages to make your own Oval Beetle. This looks to be a really fun project and it even has a VOSA license plate! Cutting and pasting is required, so kids, you may need your parent's help. Download the PDF (2 MB file)
  
  
  

• Weather Instruments

  Make 4 marks symmetrically around the spool. Have your grownup drill 1/8" holes at the marks stopping short of the center hole. Mark the egg halves or cups about 3/8" in from edges, 2 per cup/symmetrically.
  
  
  

• Web Site

  Web pages aren't just for geeks any more. If you're in business, the chances are good you'll be involved in building a Web site in one way or another. But what if you don't know HTML from H20? Or a browser from Bowser? I'll take you through the entire process of building a simple Web site.
  
  
  

• The Crafty PC

  Here are a few ideas for some projects utilizing the materials available in our Products pages. There are over 60 project links on this page, so please be patient while the thumbnail graphics load!
  
  
  

• Hands On Crafts for Kids

  Creativity through crafts is a wonderful way to express yourself and build self-esteem. Children can be successful through craft projects designed just for them and learn that there is no right or wrong way to be creative.
  
  
  

• Kansas Public Library

  Try our super craft projects! Holidays, Special Events and Subject List. Located in downtown Kansas City, Kansas the branch serves a diverse business community, local residents and students, and historians and genealogists.
  
  
  

• Science Toys

  Make toys at home with common household materials, often in only a few minutes, that demonstrate fascinating scientific principles. For some of the toys, we are putting together kits. The kits and some of the harder to find items are available in our catalog.
  
  
  

• Wild Ideas - Zoo Crafts

  Owls don't make good pets, but this craft project lets you make an owl from a rock that would be happily at home in your bedroom!
  
  
  

Bookcase

Let me know if you can recommend a great project.

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