Create your own Planetary Ring Toss with simple household objects!
Don't wait for the carnival to arrive, make your own with a DIY carnival ring toss game! This fun, hands-on activity can be made with household materials, and is a great way to practice our motor function skills.
The DIY Planet Ring Toss was recently featured on WESH 2 News' segment, The Science of It. Feel free to follow along with the video or follow the steps below!
This maker-inspired activity requires the use of scissors, so we recommend grown-up supervision for the little learners.
Materials:
- Paper plates (small and large)
- Washable markers
- 1 ruler
- Stickers, washi tape, or other decorations
- Painter's tape
- A pen
- Scissors
Let's get started!
- Begin by punching a large hole in the center of a paper plate using your pen. The hole should be large enough to insert the blade of your scissors.
- With grown-up supervision, insert your scissors into the hole and cut a large circle out of the center of your plate.
- Using your washable markers, stickers, washi tape, or other decorations, unleash your creativity and decorate your planetary ring! Rings may look like they're made of solid material from Earth, but they're actually made up of rock, ice and dust. Try creating patterns to reflect that - or just let out your inner Picasso. You're the creator here!
- Repeat steps 1-3 as many times as you'd like. Planets like Saturn have large rings, but other planets have smaller rings. You can use your smaller paper plates to create small rings for an extra challenge!
- Grab your painter's tape and your ruler and find an elevated surface, such as a counter or a table.
- Cut off a piece of tape and use it to secure your ruler to the counter vertically, so that one end sticks straight up into the air. This is your peg!
- Now comes the fun part! Do your best to toss your ring onto your peg. For an extra challenge, you can create a scoring system and make it a competition! Try assigning more points to smaller rings, as they're harder to toss onto the peg.
