All of these ideas are courtesy of the James Dyson Foundation and there are videos on the site which show the company engineers carrying out the projects. Well worth a look and a fabulous way to have fun whilst learning.

CHALLENGE 01

BALLOON CAR RACE

Make and race a balloon-powered car using just a balloon, a plastic cup, straws, thread and rubber bands.

CHALLENGE 02

SPAGHETTI BRIDGES

Can you build a spaghetti bridge that's strong enough to hold a bag of sugar? The Dyson engineers created a replica of the Golden Gate Bridge for this challenge. https://youtu.be/Pp9U6lyoIqg

CHALLENGE 03

MARBLE RUN

You will need: Cardboard. Sticky tape. Marbles.

Can you build a run that keeps the marble going for at least a minute?

CHALLENGE 04

CARDBOARD CHAIR

This challenge focuses on the principles of design and structure.

Can you design and build a chair from cardboard, that’s strong enough to support your weight?

CHALLENGE 05

MAKE A PERISCOPE

Can you turn a shoebox into an ingenious device for seeing around corners?

CHALLENGE 06

CARDBOARD BOAT

This challenge will test your design and invention skills. Can you design and build a boat from cardboard that’s strong enough to float, even with a weight on board?

There are videos to accompany each challenge or you can download the challenge cards if that works better for your circumstances.

Find out more here.