Making and Technology

How things work, how to build them, and how to use tools wisely.

By age: 0–2 · 3–5 · 6–8 · 9–12 · 13–17

Ages 0 to 2

A grown-up reads and plays along

• Push, pull and roll about 10 minutes
• Stacking and building about 10 minutes
• Opening and closing about 10 minutes

Ages 3 to 5

Read and do together

• Ramps and levers about 15 minutes
• Building a bridge about 15 minutes
• Tools and who uses them about 10 minutes
• Following steps about 15 minutes
• Wheels and axles about 20 minutes
• Boats that float about 20 minutes
• Strong triangles about 15 minutes
• What makes it go? about 15 minutes
• A lever toy about 20 minutes
• Sorting rubbish into groups about 15 minutes

Ages 6 to 8

Read together, then try alone

• A simple circuit about 25 minutes
• Sorting step by step about 20 minutes
• Finding and fixing mistakes about 20 minutes
• Machines from recycled things about 30 minutes
• Levers and pulleys about 25 minutes
• Bridges that hold about 30 minutes
• Following a flowchart about 20 minutes
• Design, build, test about 30 minutes

Ages 9 to 12

Read alone or together

• Programming with loops and choices about 40 minutes
• Binary: counting with two digits about 35 minutes
• How messages travel on the internet about 40 minutes
• Variables in a program about 25 minutes
• Debugging about 25 minutes
• How a computer stores a picture about 30 minutes

Ages 13 to 17

Read alone

• How AI language models work, and where they fail about 55 minutes
• Your data and who has it about 45 minutes
• Making a simple web page about 60 minutes
• Algorithms and efficiency about 40 minutes
• Ethics of technology about 40 minutes