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Tinkering is an active, hands-on approach to discovering the richness and depth of the world around you—and it lends itself perfectly to the home environment, using materials and tools you might already have to explore everyday phenomena in surprising ways. Try this collection of invitations and resources to get started.

Share your creations with other tinkering explorers on social media using #TinkeringAtHome and the hashtags included in each invitation. We'll share playful tips, inspiring ideas, and delightful outcomes as tinkerers around the world contribute their creations.

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Tinkering with LEGO

Tinker with your LEGO bricks in a new way—construct whimsical contraptions by combining LEGO with everyday materials. You can playfully explore kinetic sculptures, marble mazes, sky parades, art machines, moving critters, and more! Share a video of your contraptions or images of your inventions using the hashtag #LEGOTinkering.

Computational Tinkering

Explore computational tinkering and blur the line between the physical and the digital—your hands or body can trigger a digital animation on the screen. Use Scratch video sensing to make Interactive Animations that you trigger with your movements, then share your projects using the hashtags #ComputationalTinkering and #AnimateYourWorld.

Cranky Contraptions

Cranky Contraptions are homemade kinetic toys that produce a variety of motions—up and down, side to side, and more—by turning a wire "crank." Use everyday materials to tinker with ideas about storytelling and mechanical motion, and bring whimsical creations to life! Share your creations using the hashtag #CrankyContraptions.

Exploring Spinning

Find out how rotation works with Exploring Spinning—gather materials around your house gather recycled materials around your house and try turning them into spinning toys. Share your creations with us using #ExploringSpinning. Include what worked well and what didn't—we want to see your tinkering process.

STEAM Starters

Looking for ways to engage young children with tinkering? Try these STEAM Starter activities: Tinker with light and shadow and share your images and stories using #BlockBendBounce. Or find out what rolls, create your own tracks, ramps, and pathways, and share what you discover with #RampsandRollers.

Light and Shadow Play

Brighten your day with our Light and Shadow Play project ideas—find a light source (a flashlight, cell phone, or the sun) and look around for objects that make interesting shadows. Create a shadow, take a picture, and share it using #LightUpOurDays to become part of this international celebration of light and shadow.

Developed in collaboration with Fab Lab Barcelona

Play with light and color. Remix a shadow. Build a shadow skyline. Tell a story with shadows. Remix a shadow. Try different shadow-making materials.

Chain Reaction

Use everyday materials to construct a whimsical sequence of cause-and-effect surprises—a chain reaction contraption! Start simple, then add to your ingenious construction. Share a video of what you create with collaborators far and wide using #RoundTheWorld_ChainReaction.