Engineering doesn't need to involve high-tech gadgets,some of the best inventions in the world begin with basic items in your recycling bin. Teens can find hands-on activities with recycled materials that sharpen problem-solving skills and creativity. Activities make learning about STEM fun and easy and help develop sustainability. They can also lead you to think differently about waste as an innovation resource. Here are 10 DIY engineering projects built from recycled materials that any teen can do at home.
1. Balloon-Powered Car
Make a balloon-powered car out of materials such as a plastic bottle body, bottle cap wheels, straw axles, and a balloon motor. Drill holes in the bottle for the axles, attach the wheels, and attach the balloon to the rear. Fill the bottle with air and release it, and see your car zooming off as air is released, illustrating Newton's Third Law of Motion.
Experiment with wheel and bottle size and shape to determine their influence on speed and distance. Compete against other cars or measure the time it takes to go a set of distances. This is a great activity to begin working on basic engineering, aerodynamics, and physics of motion. And, it's a fun activity to recycle plastic waste and try to design a better one.
2. Wind-Powered Vehicle
Create a wind-powered vehicle with a thick cardboard base, old CD or bottle tops as wheels, and a sail made from paper or plastic. Fix the wheels to the base using straws or skewers as axles and fix a mast with a sail to it. Push the vehicle with a fan or natural wind and see how adjusting the size and shape of the sail influences movement.
This project is the perfect primer for young people on renewable energy and mechanical engineering. You can play with materials for the sail and base, try out your vehicle on different terrains, and even conduct a wind-powered race with friends. It's an innovative way of learning to design for speed and stability and capturing wind energy.
3. Cardboard Marble Run
Come up with a marble run or roller coast out of used cardboard tubes, boxes and a little tape. You can plan out your course, cut the pieces and fit it together and then glue to a big board, wall, or in a big box. You can play with how marbles move along your track, experimenting with angles and slopes to adjust speed and direction.
Try to include loops, jumps, or spirals to create an exciting adventure course! This messy and hands-on project will let you learn about friction, gravity, and engineering design because you are going to have to fix and refine your marble run so that it functions smoothly. You will also want to invite friends or siblings to work collaboratively and race each other to build the fastest, or most original design. A perfect mix of engineering, creativity, and teamwork!
4. Recycled Can Solar Oven
Construct a solar oven out of an aluminum can and pizza box. Cut the flap off the top of the pizza box and cover it with aluminum foil on the inside of the box to reflect sunlight. Put a can or painted black tray in the middle to absorb the heat, and cover it with plastic wrap to contain the warm air. Relying on the flap of the box to funnel the sunlight inside.
With your solar oven, you can melt s'mores, heat up snacks, or even cook simple foods like nachos. This project illustrates solar energy efficiency, as well as science about heat. You can learn about renewable energy and taste something sweet, all while experiencing firsthand how recycled materials can be repurposed into useful, sustainable inventions.
5. DIY Water Filter
You can create a basic water filter with a plastic bottle, sand, gravel, activated charcoal, and coffee filters or cloth. Cut the bottom off the bottle, flip it over, and stack everything inside the bottle. After dumping some gross water through the filter, watch how what you layer in the bottle actually filters the water.
This project helps teach about the water cycle, filtration system, environmental engineering, and provides a hands-on way to understand why clean water is important and seek sustainable options to secure it. While the filtered water would not be safe for you to drink, you will see how natural materials can utilize filtering to clean water in emergencies. Have a discussion about why water filtration is important across the globe and share ideas on how you would make your design better.
6. Tin Can Robot
Use old tin cans, bottle tops, reused wire, and small motors or wind-up objects to make a moving robot or simple automaton. Connect the items together with some hot glue or super strong tape, then add some recycled elements and your own personal touches to really make it your own. Put on some googly eyes, use pipe cleaners, or use paint to give it "life!"
If you have old motors or batteries that you don't need anymore, try using them to help make your robot move or do a simple action, like spin or wave. This project is a good exploration of robotics and mechanical engineering, and encourages you to be creative in recycling. It brings together the components of art, engineering, and living green.
7. Newspaper Seedling Pots
Roll up strips of newspaper into little pots for starter plants. Place a glass or jar on top, and fold the bottom up to form a base. Fill with seeds and soil, and place in a tray in a sunny window. Plant the entire pot in the ground when seedlings have formed ,newspaper naturally decomposes.
This project incorporates gardening, engineering, and the environment. It's a lesson in plant life cycles, biodegradable materials, and green design. Teens are able to try out various shapes and sizes, decorate the pots with decorations, and even host a seedling exchange party with friends or classmates. It's hands-on support for the environment and learning green engineering.
8. DIY Desk Organizer
Make your unique desk organizer with a few tin cans, cereal boxes, cardboard tubes, and other recyclables. Organize the items and glue them into pen, note, and supply trays, and then personalize it with leftover paper, scrap cloth, or paint. Customize your own organizer and adapt it to your workstation and sense of style.
This project focuses on organization, design thinking, and upcycling. It is interactive, creative, and reduces trash by utilizing recycled products. Teens can personalize their organizers for themselves, use them as gifts, or sell them in student-run fairs. It is an exceptional way to connect sustainability with real-life problem-solving.
9. Bottle Cap Wind Chime
Collect plastic or metal bottle stops and string them together to create a wind chime with fish line, old wire, or yarn. Wrap the strings around a stick, hanger, or piece of driftwood and hang outside. Use the materials to combine materials and patterns to create different sounds and items.
This project is about sound, engineering, and creative recycling. It's a simple way to create art out of waste and learn about design and acoustics. Students can collaborate to create big wind chimes for public spaces or utilize the project as a fundraiser for green projects. Each wind chime is an original work that celebrates sustainability.
10. Cardboard Pinball Machine
Using a mix of recycled cardboard, rubber bands, marbles, some household bits and pieces, etc. you can make a fun tabletop pinball game. You can make flippers, bumpers, ramps, etc., and decorate your game by drawing or painting it.
You will want to playtest and redesign over and over to meet the maximum playability possible, by changing up the angles or barriers to make it more challenging.
This is an awesome engineering challenge because it includes planning, building and testing, and it is a fun mix of problem solving, physics, and creativity! Students can compete to build the highest scoring or most creative machine or they can collaborate to create a large project everyone can be a part of.
It is a fun way to specifically look at mechanics, and motion, it also has added benefits of teaching teamwork.
Why Recycled Engineering Projects are Important
Making things from recyclables is not only trendy, but it also is a great life lesson in sustainability, resourcefulness and innovation. Teens will learn to think of trash as treasure, and this will inspire innovative ideas for real problems. All of these projects will foster critical thinking, working together, and perseverance as you build, test, and recycle your projects.
If you are a high school student pushing yourself to stand out in college applications, RISE Research offers a unique opportunity to work one-on-one with mentors from top universities around the world.
Through personalized guidance and independent research projects that can lead to prestigious publications, RISE Research helps you build a standout academic profile and develop skills that set you apart. With flexible program dates and global accessibility, ambitious students can apply year-round. To learn more about eligibility, costs, and how to get started, visit RISE Research official website and take your college preparation to the next level!
Read More
