Thank you for supporting our charity to help empower children and young people to serve their communities. In this post we have provided ideas to get your child’s imagination revving.
THE ULTIMATE BOREDOM BUSTER: MASTERPIECE EDITION
Welcome to your Invention Kit!
Inside your sleeve are over 100 rescued materials waiting to be brought to life. Today, you are the engineer, the artist, and the inventor. Put away the tablets, turn off the TVs, and flex those massive creativity muscles!
NO SCREENS. NO BATTERIES. JUST IMAGINATION.
SAFETY FIRST: This kit contains small parts which may be a choking hazard. Not suitable for children under 3 years. The craft scissors are real tools; adult supervision is required at all times during use!
THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN INVENTION CHALLENGE
We want to see what your big brain can build!
- INVENT: Use the items in this pack to invent a machine or a creature that helps people or the planet.
- SNAP: Take a photo of your masterpiece.
- SHARE: Ask a parent to upload it to social media and tag @commonkind.org (Facebook); @commonkindofficial (Instagram)
- WIN: Every month, our Youth Advisory Group picks the most creative invention to win a Master Inventor Certificate!
30 ideas to get you started
Using the materials included in your kit, get playing! Here are some activities if you are stuck for ideas!
🏗️ Engineering & Building Challenges
- The Stick-Scraper: Use your popsicle sticks and rubber band to build the tallest freestanding 3D tower possible.
- The Pom-Pom Launcher: Lash 5 popsicle sticks together with chenille sticks to make a lever. Use your rubber band to create tension, and launch a pom-pom across the room.
- The Accordion Bridge: Span a 15cm gap between two books using only your Jumbo Craft Sticks and paper clips as hinges to link them together.
- The Cube Balancing Act: Place your small wooden cube on the table. Using matchsticks and paper clips, build a structure on top of the cube without letting it topple over.
- The Feather Glider: Construct a lightweight glider body using coloured paper and a Jumbo Craft Stick. Attach feathers to the wings and test how far it glides.
- The Raft Test: Hook your popsicle sticks together using paper clips to create a flat raft. Place it in a sink or bowl of water to see if it floats.
🎨 Art & Design Challenges
- The Stained-Glass Window: Tape your clear sleeve to a sunny window. Snip small pieces of your crepe/tissue paper with your craft scissors, damp them slightly with a drop of water, and press them to the plastic. They will stick naturally, creating a glowing stained-glass pattern!
- The Magic Drawing Board: Slide a blank sheet of coloured paper inside the sleeve. If you have a whiteboard marker or washable texta at home, you can draw right on the plastic surface, wipe it clean with a tissue, and redesign your artwork forever.
- The Punch-Hole Weaving Loom: Take advantage of the binder ring-holes on the margin of the sleeve! Thread your chenille sticks and short ribbon in and out of the holes to practice weaving cool borders.
- Decorative Mosaic Art: Use your craft scissors to snip the crepe/tissue paper and coloured paper into tiny squares. Glue them down onto the A4 cardstock to create a bold mosaic design.
- The Master Mask: Take a large paper circle and use your craft scissors to cut out eye holes. Decorate it with feathers, sequins, and foam shapes to create a superhero mask.
- Pattern Party: Place your stencil over the A4 cardstock. Use your stamp repeatedly inside the stencil cutouts to create a layered, multi-textured piece of art.
- The Ribbon Bookmark: Cut a thick strip of coloured paper using your craft scissors. Tie the short ribbon through a hole at the top and decorate the length with your 5 stickers.
- Textured Landscape: Create a 3D collage on paper using crepe/tissue paper crumpled up for clouds, feathers for grass, and matchsticks to build a tiny house.
- The Silhouette Frame: Use your stencil to draw shapes on a dark piece of paper. Cut them out, and paste bright crepe/tissue paper behind the holes so the light shines through.
- Waterproof Sun-Catcher: Use your craft scissors to cut a large shape (like a star or butterfly) out of the clear plastic sleeve. Glue your sequins and bits of feathers onto it, punch a hole in the top, and hang it up to catch the morning sun.
🎭 Characters & Storytelling
- The One-Eyed Monster Puppet: Turn a Jumbo Craft Stick into a puppet. Use a googly eye right in the middle, wrap chenille sticks around for bendy arms, and use a pom-pom for a nose.
- Alphabet Aliens: Use your foam letters to spell a silly alien name on a large paper circle. Use matchsticks for antennae and feathers for hair.
- The Pocket Pet: Transform your small wooden cube into a pocket-sized pet. Give it a face using your stickers, sequin ears, and a tiny crepe-paper tail.
- Shadow Puppets: Cut out bold animal shapes from your A4 cardstock. Tape them to coloured popsicle sticks and turn off the lights to put on a shadow puppet show using a flashlight.
- The Feathered Crown: Bend chenille sticks into a circle that fits your head. Interweave your 3 coloured feathers and sequins into the band to make a royal crown.
🎲 Games & Brain Teasers
- The Ribbon Fishing Game: Tie your short ribbon to a Jumbo Craft Stick to make a fishing rod. Tie a paper clip to the end of the ribbon as a hook. Try to hook large paper circles off the floor.
- Matchstick Puzzles: Use your coloured matchsticks to form geometric shapes (triangles, squares). Challenge a family member: “Can you move just two matchsticks to turn three triangles into two?”
- The Pom-Pom Maze: Arrange your popsicle sticks flat on the floor or a table to create a labyrinth maze. Blow through a straw (or just use your breath) to guide a pom-pom from start to finish.
- Sticker Target Practice: Place your stickers at different distances on a table. Try to flick a paper clip so it slides and lands exactly on top of a sticker.
- The Sound Shaker: (Upcycle helper!) Find an empty clean jar or plastic container at home. Drop in your wooden cube, matchsticks, and sequins. Seal it up and shake it to create a musical instrument.
🌿 Outdoor & Nature Adventures
- The Garden Flag: Decorate a sheet of coloured paper with your stamp and foam shapes. Wrap it around a Jumbo Craft Stick and plant it in the garden as a backyard flag.
- Wind Crawler: Create a lightweight insect using chenille sticks and a large paper circle. Take it outside on a breezy day and see if the wind moves its feather wings.
- The Nature Rubbing Frame: Go outside and find a textured leaf. Hide it under your coloured paper and rub a crayon or pencil over the top to capture the leaf pattern. Use your craft scissors to trim the paper into a beautiful frame.
- The Transparent Nature Pouch: Go on a backyard nature walk. Collect flat treasures like flower petals or clover leaves, slide them inside the clear sleeve, and tape the top shut to create a waterproof botanical display.
THANK YOU FOR DOING GOOD!
By using this kit you are doing two amazing things:
- You saved 100+ items from going to landfill. Every item was proudly rescued and hand-packed by volunteers in Brisbane.
- 100% of your money goes directly to supporting commonkind, a registered charity empowering children and young people to serve their communities. You are helping build community!
OTHER DETAILS
All materials included in this kit are donated and provided ‘as is’. While we ensure items are in good working order, commonkind cannot be held responsible for any damage or injury resulting from use.
By sharing photos of your invention on social media, you agree to allow commonkind to use these images for promotional purposes. Please ensure parental consent is obtained before uploading any photos. All inventions and photos remain the property of the creator. By sharing, you grant commonkind a non-exclusive licence to use the images for promotional and educational purposes.
