A Rocket & Raven series
A free online engineering course: 12 build challenges with paper, tape and cardboard.
Builder's Lab is a free online engineering course and the building counterpart to the Code Crew coding courses. Each week is one real challenge: a tower that holds a tennis ball five inches off the table, a paper airplane that flies at least 10 feet, a marble run that takes 5 seconds or more. Kids follow the design process (ask, imagine, plan, create, test, improve) with Rocket, Raven and Nova. Short lessons run Monday to Friday, and Saturday is Build Day, a family build-off with a note for the grown-up. It is written for Kindergarten to Grade 5, with a grown-up reading along and doing any cutting.
The course is free, start to finish.
Free online engineering course · 12 weeks
Towers, bridges, paper airplanes, parachutes, marble runs and balloon cars. Twelve weeks of build, test and improve with household materials.
Nothing. Builder's Lab is free from start to finish, with no card. A free parent account saves each kid's progress.
Kindergarten to Grade 5. The reading is kept simple so younger kids can follow with a grown-up reading along, and the challenges have room for older kids to push further.
Things most homes already have: paper, tape, cardboard, straws, string, paper cups, craft sticks, rubber bands, marbles, a ruler and a timer. There is no kit to buy.
A grown-up does all cutting with sharp tools, and kids never use hot glue. Nothing is launched at people or animals. Marbles come with a choking-hazard note for young siblings.
Yes. Builder's Lab is an online course, so it needs a tablet, phone or computer with a web browser. The building happens away from the screen.