Imagine and design solutions to challenges at the Maker Space. Make your creation from a range of materials provided and test out your design. Share your thinking with others and build on each other’s ideas.

Current Maker Space Activity

Shake it up

28 March - 15 July 2022

The ground is shaking, and the earth is quaking. Which buildings stand tall, and which ones will fall? What makes a structure strong enough to survive the power of an earthquake?

Design a tall building that can withstand the force of an earthquake. What is your building used for? Will you need to use rigid, flexible, hard, or squishy materials?

This activity invites you to follow a design process. Below are some of the questions that will help you at each stage of the process.

	Think of some solutions • What type of building will you design? Who might need this building and what is used for?  • What happens in an earthquake and how can that cause damage to a building? • Why do you think some buildings can withstand stronger earthquakes than others? Consider some real-world examples of earthquake-proof buildings.  • How will you keep people safe inside the building? • What ideas do you have for a design?
	Make a prototype • What materials will you need to build your structure and protect it from the force of an earthquake?  • How can you use the properties of different materials in your design? Will you need flexible, rigid, squishy or hard materials? • How will you attach the parts of your design together and secure your building to the ground? • What part of the design are you finding tricky to build?
	Test it out • What did you observe? Did anything unexpected happen? • How did your building move during testing? Did it slide, sway, bounce, topple, or crumble? • What parts of your design worked really well? • How did your structure respond to varying levels of force being applied? • How did the addition of weights affect the testing?
	Improve your design • What changes can you make and how will that improve on your design? • What ideas could you incorporate from someone else’s design?  • If you started again, what would you do differently? What would you do the same?  • What would you need to consider and change to build an earthquake-proof structure that was taller, or wider or could withstand an even bigger earthquake?

This activity supports the key learning areas of Science, Mathematics and Design & Technology, in the Australian Curriculum.

Changes have been made to our Maker Space programs. This includes increased cleaning of furniture and shared equipment, disposal of single use materials after use and changes in the way we disperse material to reduce handling.

Previous program ideas and resources

• Zip to it

  15 December 2021 - 28 March 2022, 17 September 2018 – 16 December 2018

  This tricky terrain is a breeze if you slide or roll down a zip line. Make a carrier that safely transports a person or object along a zip line. Who are you designing for and what might they need? Zip lines can be made from different types of thread, cord or line, set up at different angles and have different lengths. Consider the mass and shape of your object when designing your carrier. 

  Set up your Zip to it Maker Space activity at your space. Watch our design challenge video and download the resource. 

• Switched on

  13 September 2021 – 6 December 2021

  From bedroom lights to traffic lights, we rely on lights that can be switched on and off every single day. Use your design skills to build simple switches to quirky creations – different types for different purposes. 
  
  Control the flow of electrical energy as you create electrical switches and circuits using wires, batteries and a collection of unusual items.  What materials will you use and why? How will your switch work? Who are you designing it for?
  
  Set up a Switched on Maker Space challenge at your space. 

• Spin cycle

  31 March 2021 – 20 June 2021

  Up, down and turn around! Construct a machine that uses spinning parts to make something move. What might your simple machine do and who might need to use it?  

  With gears, wheels and everyday materials, test out your machine and see if every part moves smoothly and in the way that you want it to. How do the different sized gears or wheels change how your machine moves?

  What changes can you make to improve on your design, move something over a greater distance or function in a different way?

  Design a solution to the Spin cycle challenge at your space.    

• Sound makers

  16 December 2020 – 30 March 2021

  Strum, rattle, tap, strike and pluck! Design a Sound maker which can produce a range of different sounds. Consider who might use this device and what their needs might be.  

  Test out your Sound maker and see if you can control or change the pitch of your sounds?
  
  Consider what you would need to change to control the loudness or amplitude of your sounds.  

  Create a Sound Maker challenge at your space

• Move it!

  14 September 2020 – 15 December 2020

  Grab, scoop, hook, flip and grip as you design and build a device to pick something up – without touching it with your hands! How can you build parts that can move, bend or rotate?  

  Test out your device by transporting an object from one place to another. Will your device be able to securely contain your object over a distance? Measure how far or how high you can move your object.

  Make improvements to your device and consider what you would need to change if you were transporting a different object.  

  Take the Move it challenge by setting up your own Maker Space activity at your space.

• Slow it down

  22 June 2020 – 13 September 2020

  How slow can you go? Design a way to slow down a speeding cart before it reaches the end of the track.  

  Make a vehicle and add customised parts to your cart. Test out your cart by rolling it down a ramp and measuring how far your cart goes. Make improvements to your design, so that your cart travels an increasingly shorter distance. 
  
  Think about the forces involved as your cart moves along the track. Change the angle of the ramp and see what happens. 

  Set up a Slow it down Maker Space challenge at your space.

• Take a seat

  16 December 2019 – 29 March 2020

  Fold, cut, roll and join! How will you change cardboard to make a mini chair? Be a designer and create a simple prototype using a range of different repurposed materials. 
  
  Consider who your chair is for and what they need this chair to do. Use a toy or small manikin as a character for testing. As you design your chair, think about strong shapes, structure, movable parts and stability. 

  Take a seat. Set up this Maker Space prototype challenge at your space.

• Air machines

  17 September – 15 December 2019

  Push, pull, lift and tilt! Add parts to an air powered machine. What will you make the machine do? Use two 10 ml syringes and plastic tubing to create a pneumatic system. When you push on one syringe plunger, the air pressure inside the system will cause the plunger in the other syringe to move. Add parts to your movable plungers. What will you make your air powered machine do? Add more their one pneumatic system into your machine. 

  Create an Air Machine Maker Space activity at your space.

• Land sailing rovers

  24 June 2019 - 16 September 2019

  How far will your wind-powered vehicle travel down a test track? Make a vehicle and create a customised mast and sail. Use a fan to propel your rover through some all-terrain challenges, such as different surfaces, ramps and bridges.
  
  Consider the properties of different materials and whether you need your mast and sail to be light or heavy, strong, rigid or flexible. Think about the forces involved as your rover moves forward.

  Set up a Land sailing rovers Maker Space activity at your space.

• Shake it up

  

  4 April 2019 - 23 June 2019

  Can your structure survive the power of an earthquake? Make and test your custom-built design to see if they survive the destructive force of the quake. Consider the different properties of the materials you are using and whether it is better for your structure to be light or heavy, strong, rigid or flexible? What happens if the quake is quite strong or you add multi-levels or weights to your design?

  Set up your own Shake it up Maker Space activity at your space.

• Can you cross it?

  17 December 2018 – 3 April 2019

  Moving something across town, over the river, up the mountain or across the valley takes some thought. Build a structure to help move something light or heavy between two parts of the landscape. Consider materials, strong shapes and the size and weight of your object. Your landscape can be made using boxes or furniture and have parts that are of different heights and different width spans.

  Can you cross it? Set up this Maker Space challenge at your space.