Looking for Something Creative for Your Kids This Summer? Try This.
- Phil Wells
- Jul 31
- 8 min read
5 No-Prep Design Challenges to Spark Creative Thinking
The problem with creativity in to the home and the classroom
You want to bring creativity into your home or classroom. You want your kids and students to build, explore, and actually enjoy learning. But between planning activities and juggling day-to-day tasks, there’s not exactly time to prep for structured activities.
Sounds familiar?
You know how powerful creative learning can be, especially when it gets kids talking, thinking, and figuring things out for themselves. But finding activities that tick creative boxes and and have some connection to the curriculum. and doesn’t take hours to prepare? That’s the tricky part.
Sometimes, creative activities feel like a luxury. But they don’t have to.
A no-stress solution
The good news? You don’t need fancy materials, expensive tech, or a a set time to get creative thinking flowing. You just need the right challenge, and a little bit of architecture.
We’ve pulled together five of our favourite low-prep design activities that have been tried, tested, and loved by students from Year 2 to Year 9. They’re hands-on, fast to set up, and sneak all kinds of STEAM learning into the mix - without your kids even realising.
You can run them with what’s already in your home or classroom, and they work beautifully whether you’ve got 15 minutes or a full hour. No wrong answers, no assessments, just curiosity, collaboration, and some surprising results.
Here’s our Top Five Creative Design Challenges:
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1. The Paper Bridge Challenge
What can you do with three sheets of paper, a handful of reading books, and a boiled sweet?
Turns out - quite a lot:
🕒 Time: 20 to 40 minutes
🎯 Challenge: Build a paper bridge that spans the widest possible gap and supports a boiled sweet without collapsing.
🧰 Materials: Each team requires -
Sheets of A4 paper; as many as available and scrap sheets are ideal. Students will be using three at a time to make their bridges.
2 stacks of reading books, roughly the same height
1 boiled sweet (or similar small object as a ‘load’ to test their structures)
How It Works:
Set up two equal stacks of books with a gap between them. Using only the three sheets of paper (no tape, no stapling or glue!), students must create a bridge that spans the gap and can support the weight of the boiled sweet.
Let them experiment and encourage them to run through as many iterations as they can to work towards the longest span by folding, rolling, layering, and testing different ideas. Encourage fast trials and quick rethinks. After 15-20 minutes, students can pause, reflect, and attempt a second version with their best shared ideas.
Learning Links:
This challenge introduces structural thinking in a hands-on way
It encourages iteration and problem-solving under constraints
It supports Maths (measurement, balance and symmetry) and Science (forces and materials) in a hands-on environment
And it is a great discussion starter on dead-load vs live-load, working with the materials (using friction as a design asset, and discovering the structural properties of paper).
Bonus Tips:
Begin with a quick intro to the four types of structure (frame, shell, solid, tensile)
Challenge them to increase the span bit by bit using trial and error
Snap photos for a class display or student portfolio evidence
Why it’s a hit: It’s fast, funny, and totally absorbing, and it makes invisible concepts feel very real, very quickly. It’s a challenge that yields a lot of creative productivity, without students feeling they are under pressure to perform or meet expectations.
2. Design a Chair for a Character
What kind of chair would a ballerina need? A pirate? A librarian? A super-hero?
This activity gets students thinking not just about shapes and materials, but about people.
🕒 Time: 30 to 45 minutes
🎯 Goal: Design (and optionally build) a chair that suits a specific character’s needs and personality
🧰 Materials:
Paper, pencils, coloured pens
Optional: scrap card, masking tape, scissors, plasticine, art straws, string, pipe cleaners etc. (for a 3D model version)
How It Works:
Each student (or group) picks a character - real or imaginary - and imagines the kind of chair that would suit them. Would it be soft or spiky? Huge or tiny? Easy to move or anchored to the ground? Articulated or covered in controls?
Students start by sketching ideas, adding notes and labels to explain features. If time and materials allow, they can work in 3D at the same time to make a model using whatever’s available.
Learning Links:
This challenge boosts empathy and user-centred thinking
It links to Art/Design & Technology (product design, iteration)
And it offers opportunities to discuss ergonomics, proportion, material use, and form vs function
Bonus Tips:
For additional engagement use a random character generator, or select a character from a class book for inspiration
Encourage imaginative combinations - e.g. “a chair for a time-travelling octopus”
Have students present their chairs as “pitches” to the class (encouraging drama and communication skills).
Why it’s a hit: Students love combining creativity and silliness with real design logic. It’s also a brilliant leveller - every answer is different, and there’s no such thing as “wrong.”
3. The ‘Random Tower’ Challenge
Build the tallest tower possible… using whatever’s on the table.
(It just has to hold a LEGO figure or boiled sweet at the top. Easy, right?)
🕒 Time: 30 to 40 minutes
🎯 Goal: Build the tallest freestanding tower that can hold a small object at the top
🧰 Materials (mix and match based on what’s available):
A4 paper
String or wool
Pipe cleaners
Masking tape
Art straws or scrap card (max A4 size)
Scissors
Plasticine or blu-tack
A LEGO figure or boiled sweet as the live-load
How It Works:
Students work solo or in small groups to build the tallest structure they can, using only what’s provided. The tower must support a LEGO figure or a sweet at the top and stand on its own.
There’s no blueprint, just materials, gravity, and a ticking clock. Students will quickly discover what bends, buckles, and balances… and how tricky it is to make something tall and stable with lightweight materials.
Learning Links:
Students learn about structural forces, triangulation, and structural design in a hands-on context
This revisits the four types of structure noted in the bridge challenge above (frame, shell, solid, suspension)
It connects to Physics (load, gravity, centre of mass) and Maths (measurement, proportion)
And it encourages iteration, resilience, and collaboration
Bonus Tips:
Discuss strategies: base width, centre of gravity, use of triangles and cross-bracing
Highlight the challenge of resisting compression with soft/flexible materials
Compare tower types—some spindly and elegant, others short but robust
Why it’s a hit: It’s chaotic, noisy, and packed with “aha” moments. Students start with messy ideas, improve fast, and often surprise themselves with what they can build. There’s serious STEAM learning buried in the fun.
Parent / Teacher Tip:
Choose materials that encourage students to explore different structural behaviours.
Use art straws or pipe cleaners for frame structures
Folded paper or card for panels and shells
String or wool for tension elements
Plasticine or blu-tack to experiment with solid, weight-bearing forms
The mix of materials adds just the right amount of constraint, and leads to brilliant discussions about compression, stability, and structure under gravity.
Why it’s a hit: It’s chaotic, noisy, and packed with “aha” moments. Students start with messy ideas, improve fast, and often surprise themselves.
4. Design an Ideal Bedroom… for a Giraffe
What would it feel like to relax if your neck was two metres long?
This creative drawing task asks students to design not for themselves—but for someone completely different. Someone with different needs, different preferences, and a very, very different view of the world.
🕒 Time: 30 to 40 minutes
🎯 Goal: Design a bedroom for a giraffe using drawing and storytelling
🧰 Materials:
Paper
Pencils, coloured pencils, felt tips
For older students try including perspective paper and axonometric paper for 3D drawings
How It Works:
Students are invited into a playful design challenge: They are the architect and their client - a giraffe - needs a new bedroom of their own. It’s not just any room, but a space that feels comfortable, relaxing, and joyful for a giraffe.
They’ll create a drawing (top-down or side view, or both) showing how the space is laid out, decorated, and furnished. What furnishings would a giraffe need? Encourage them to invent a backstory: Is the giraffe sporty? Sleepy? Does it love music, quiet, or looking out of tall windows or roof-lights?
This is about thinking beyond ourselves—and seeing the world from a different perspective.
Learning Links:
This exercise encourages empathetic design and creative thinking beyond stereotypes
It links to Art/Design, PSHE (empathy, identity), and English (narrative/storytelling)
And it introduces the idea of user-focused design—a key concept in architecture and product development
Bonus Tips:
Prompt students with questions: What does a giraffe need to feel at home? Would it sleep lying down or standing? How does it get in and out of the room? And remember - doors, windows and walls don’t have to be similar to those of the human world.
Allow time for storytelling and “mini presentations” to the class
For older students, add design constraints (e.g. max floor area, access needs)
Why it’s a hit: It’s funny, freeing, and surprisingly thoughtful. Students start to question their assumptions, and begin to design more openly, curiously, and compassionately.
5. George Land’s Classic Creative Genius Challenge (or the Paperclip Challenge)
What else could a paperclip be? - And how many ideas can you come up with before the timer runs out?
🕒 Time: 10 to 20 minutes
🎯 Goal: Generate as many alternative uses for a paperclip as possible
🧰 Materials:
One paperclip per student (or image on a screen)
Pencil and paper for writing or sketching ideas
How It Works:
Give students a simple challenge with surprisingly deep outcomes: “Imagine a paperclip. Now forget what it’s for. What else could it be?”
Set a timer (e.g. 5 to 10 minutes) and ask students to list or sketch as many different uses, reinterpretations, or redesigns as they can. Can it become a sculpture? A clasp for dragon wings? A hinge in a foldable bridge?
This task is based on a creativity test originally developed for NASA by George Land in the 1960’s. He found that 98% of 5-year-olds scored in the “creative genius” range, while adults scored just 2%. This challenge gives students a glimpse of their own creative potential, and provides teachers with a simple strategy to help encourage divergent thinking in to the classroom.
Learning Links:
This challenge develops divergent thinking and design imagination
It is an excellent introduction to creative problem solving, brainstorming, and thinking beyond function
It links to Science/Engineering (redesigning materials/tools) and Art/Design (reimagining form and purpose)
Bonus Tips:
Frame the activity as a “creative warm-up” or part of a design lab
For follow-up: ask students to pick their favourite idea and sketch a more detailed version
Reflect on the idea that creativity isn’t about getting the “right” answer—it’s about generating lots of possibilities
Why it’s a hit: Students get silly, smart, and wildly inventive, and parents and teachers are often amazed by the range of ideas. It’s quick to run, fun to share, and sparks deeper conversations about what creativity really is.
These aren’t just filler activities, they’re confidence builders.
Each of these challenges gives students the chance to think creatively, take risks, and explore ideas without fear of getting it “wrong.” There’s no single answer, and no pressure to perform. That’s where the magic happens.
For some students, especially those who struggle with traditional tasks, this is a rare opportunity to shine. It taps into multiple learning styles—visual, kinaesthetic, verbal, and helps develop critical thinking, spatial awareness, and collaboration skills, often in ways that feel like play.
But it’s not just “fun stuff.” These activities also support core curriculum goals in Maths, Science, and Design & Technology, and links directly to Gatsby Benchmark 4 (Careers in the Curriculum) by introducing real-world design thinking in action. They demonstrate what it means to solve problems like an architect or engineer.
And best of all? They give you back a moment of breathing room, with zero prep, minimal materials, and maximum impact.
Or if you’re curious about how we can support your STEAM or careers provision more fully, book a discovery call to explore creative, curriculum-linked workshops for your school - delivered in-person (London) or online, and designed to engage every student.
Thanks for reading and we’d love to see your work - please email your kid's creations to us at genius@architecturekids.co.uk
Dont hang about - Book a Discovery Call today!
Happy creating this Summer, from
Architecture Kids CIC
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