Kid Science: Craft Stick Chain Reaction

There are some scientific concepts that kids understand intuitively—but it’s great to build on that knowledge to show how science happens in everyday life!

Here’s a fun kid science experiment that teaches the difference between potential and kinetic energy. You’ll need craft sticks—the more you have, the bigger a chain reaction you can create!

1. First, interweave four craft sticks as pictured below:

2. Add a stick as a lock on one end.

3. Keep weaving more craft sticks onto the other end…

4. …and MORE craft sticks…

5. Until you have a pretty impressive long lattice. That’s a LOT of potential energy stored up! 

6. Wondering what happens when you let go? Watch kinetic energy get unleashed here!