Tinkering with scrapboy! Make an inventor's box

Hi greenthumbs. It’s scrapboy here!

Do you like inventing things? I do! It’s one of my all-time favourite things to do. I’ve invented lots of things. Some of the things I’ve invented include a Pedal-powered Pancake Machine, the Scrapbot and the great Travel Machine.

People ask me all the time how I learnt to invent stuff. I haven’t studied a Degree in Ingenious Inventions, I have really just taught myself. It’s all about trial and error. Mistakes are where you come up with the best of ideas!

I like to invent new things out of old things and scrap stuff. I don’t buy anything new. I collect things and keep them in my inventor’s box, so I have things ready to use for when an invention comes calling.

Would you like to make your own inventor’s box?! This is a great science activity for kids. Come on, I’ll show you.

how to make an inventor’s box

First, you need to find a box. You could use an old toy box or see if your grown-ups have an old craft box or fishing box. If you can’t find one at home, you could visit an op-shop to search for a second-hand box. You could even use an old shoebox.

Give your box and name and write it on top. Mine is called ‘scrapboy’s Incredible Invention Box of Inconceivable Imagination’!

What can you put in your inventor’s box? Some of the things that I have in my inventor’s box include:

wire

old CDs

old containers

toilet paper rolls

sticks and pieces of wood

egg cartons (sshhh! don’t tell Velma the chicken! She thinks they are only for eggs!)

old electronic bits and pieces

screws, nuts and bolts

ice-block sticks

paperclips

bottle lids