Background:

Fidget tools are designed to relieve stress, strengthen hand muscles, and increase focus. The most popular fidget tool, the fidget spinner, was designed in 2017 and quickly hit Amazon’s top 20 best selling toy list. Prior to the invention of the fidget spinner were tools such as the Rubiks cube, stress ball, Chinese Health balls, and more! Chinese Health Balls were originally invented in the 1660’s and are still used today!

Question to Explore:

How can we use recycled materials to design and create our own fidget tool?

Material Options:

pipe cleaners
marbles
beads
paper clips
tape
slime
plastic drinking straws
legos
balloons
popsicle sticks
buttons
foam
clay
pom poms
rocks or beans
other recycled images from around the house

Procedure:

Decide what kind of fidget tool you will create (ex: a fidget spinner, a fidget cube, a stress ball, etc.)
Draw a picture of your design
Decide which materials you will use
Create your fidget tool!
Design features to consider:
- Size (must fit in your hand easily)
- Cost (so it can be made on a large scale)
- Texture (soft, squishy, bumpy, smooth, rough)
- Fatigue test (the tool must hold up under repeated stress and use)
- Ergonomic (must be comfortable to use)