Hydraulic Lever

Get a great introduction to hydraulic systems with this kit! With plastic syringes, tubing, craft sticks, and construction paper, students can make a moving hydraulic sculpture. What will your child make? Monster jaws? A dancer? A crane lifting a load?

BONUS KIT: Q-Tip Launcher

This simple mechanical engineering project gives kids a chance to play with thrust and the physics of elasticity. It might even keep them busy for a while after it’s built!

Set up a target and have them chart their hits and misses, and you could expand this activity into a graphing exercise.

If you are brave enough, you can even set up a blank sheet of paper and dip the Q-tips in water color paint before launching and see what kind of composition you can make!

This bilingual kit was designed in partnership with the Doña Ana Arts Council.