Category Archives: Simple Projects

Racing Robot Reader

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Have a reluctant reader who might appreciate good race? This simple project will get them raring to read letters and words with the assistance of their own personal reading robot! Built out of things in your home or office, it’s low tech, but high levels of F-U-N!

You’ll need:

  • 1 paper cup
  • 1 small ball
  • 1 piece of tin foil or sparkle stem
  • Pens or markers
  • Post-it notes

Flip the cup upside down, then decorate your robot with markers (we went a little fancy with silver circular file labels and eye stickers). Add tin foil or sparkle stem antennae. When you’re finished designing, place your robot cup on top of a ball. We used a squishy foam ball, but a tennis ball works great too!

Next, write alphabet letters on Post-it notes and stick them to a tabletop. Have the reader and their robot sit on the opposite side of the table. As you call out the letter, they can slide and release their robot towards the proper Post-it!

There are plenty of variations on this game. The robots can read single letters, words, finish sentences, and seek out synonyms. They’re also multilingual if you’re trying to learn a new language. Or you can go multiplayer and race other robots in a full scale demolition derby!

Sneak Peek: Swiftie Science

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We’ve been dropping Easter eggs both big and small, but now we’re going to finally come out and say it: Katie and I are major Swifties. And we’re so excited to announce a major Taylor Swift event coming up this weekend!

Along with our friends at Science Outreach at Princeton University and the Department of Chemistry, we’re celebrating everything science and everything Taylor as we pair her lyrics and visuals with scientific principles and dynamic demos. Nice!

Which brings me to this lovely marshmallow cat.

During one part of the event, we’ll be demonstrating the effects vacuum pressure on marshmallows. But we couldn’t resist a Tay tie in by transforming the mallow into a cat! Katie spotted the original recipe here at The Decorated Cookie. And yes, Katie and her family did see the Eras Tour, night 3 in New Jersey:

Pssst! For you eagle-eyed Swifties, did you also spot a very special house in this post?

Sneak Peek: Hobbit Door

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Bilbo Baggins’ birthday is September 22nd, and we’re throwing a huge bash that’s sure to be the talk of Hobbiton! We’ll share an extensive post about it soon, but today is a sneak peek at a craft project I designed for the big day….a petri dish hobbit door that doubles as a trinket box AND mini exhibit!

You’ll need:

  • 1 plastic 3.5″ petri dish
  • Construction paper or poster board
  • 1 wooden bead
  • 1 hobbit door template, printed on 8.5″ x 11″ card stock
  • Scissors and glue for construction

First, the door! Cut a 3.5″ circle out of construction paper or poster board, and glue it to the lid of the petri dish. You can add additional paper strips to create a “wood grain” effect if you so desire. Glue a wood bead to the center of the door. Note: we ordered our petri dishes bulk on Amazon. Make sure to get the version without agar.

Now for your mini exhibit! Cut both circles from the template: the illustration and the label. Glue the illustration to the inside bottom of the petri dish. Next, flip the petri dish’s lid over and glue the label to the opposite side of the door.

Your competed hobbit hole is now ready to house little treasures. Like…I don’t know…a RING??? Yesssss my preciousssssss.