8 Free Science Activities with Toilet Paper Tubes

Save all the empty toilet paper tubes! They can be put to use for fun hands-on science activities with the kids! This roundup highlights 8 free STEM activities you can do with empty toilet paper (or paper towel) tubes.

Recycled materials are great for many hands-on science and engineering activities. Paired with craft materials and some tape or glue, kids can turn recycled containers and cardboard into the basis of a fun and engaging science exploration.

These eight hands-on science activities all use simple cardboard tubes — like the ones you end up with when the toilet paper or paper towel roll is empty:

1. Build Your Own Sports Equipment: use cardboard tubes (taped together if you need them longer) to make sports equipment like golf clubs or baseball bats — and then head outside to try them out!
2. Build a Paper Airplane Launcher: you can use a range of materials to build your own paper airplane launcher, but toilet paper tubes work well!
3. Build a Robot Hand: explore robotics (no electronics required!) when you use cardboard tubes and recycled or craft materials like modeling clay, straws, and rubber bands to design a robotic hand.
4. Junkbots: Robots from Recycled Materials: use cardboard tubes to design and build robots from recycled materials. (A few specialty electronics parts, or the Bristlebot Kit, are also required.)
5. Make Your Own Stethoscope: kids can explore heart beat science with a simple homemade stethoscope.
6. Balloon Magic with Bernoulli's Principle: experiment to see what happens to two balloons when you blow air between them through a cardboard tube.
7. Make a Cotton Ball Launcher: use a cardboard tube, a pencil, and a rubber band to make a fun launcher. How far can a cotton ball go?
8. Can You Kazoo?: use a cardboard tube to experiment with sound using a homemade kazoo.

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