25 Maker Projects for Kids to Do This Summer

I love a good summer maker project! At the beginning of the design thinking process, sometimes kids need a little scaffolding. This blog post offers you and your kids 25 maker project ideas for the summer months! 

Keep kids engaged and practicing awesome life skills all summer long!

My kids and I have been working on maker projects all summer. My 2nd grader initiated this summer long maker experience!

We were on a walk and we came across what looked like a a table that once held a grill. It was in rough shape and was out on the curb to be thrown out.

My son had been wanting a station for all of his science gear, so he thought we could turn this piece of trash on the curb into a science lab. So we did, and thus a new interest was born: turning trash to treasure!

One of my favorite things about maker projects is that they do not have to be expensive. They don't have to cost a dime, in fact. I have done maker projects with my high school students forever, and we usually use materials that are just sitting around.

With my own children, we have been using only what we have on hand, including items on curbs that are destined for the landfill.

Making, particularly when done on the cheap, is an awesome way to gain content knowledge AND build important skills such as problem solving.

The maker project ideas listed below, and the ones that I did with my own children, can be modified to fit all ages and skill levels.

Have an amazing summer making! 

You can scroll down for a list of awesome maker project ideas for summer. Bookmark this page, and when your kids say "I'm bored", pull the prompts out and have the choose one!

The photos below illustrate a couple of the projects my own children and I have done so far this summer. 

The first one, as I've already described, was science station using an old grill table. This one was awesome. The only material we needed to purchase was spray paint.

We also created a yard swing out of palettes. There are palettes all over our city just waiting to be turned into some kind of maker gem! 

All you need to make a palette swing is one palette, paint, cushions, and rope. I purchased additional straps to hang our swing because the branch is uneven.

The palette was on the side of the road, the rope and paint we had sitting around, and the cushions came from our patio set that hadn't been used in years.

If you feel more comfortable having specific instructions, check out palette swings on Pinterest. There are many options!​

25 Maker Projects for Kids to do This Summer

Make something...

• Upcycled
• That serves multiple purposes
• That solves an in-home problem
• That solves a travel problem
• That solves a fitness problem
• That solves a camping problem
• That organizes something
• That saves you time
• That you can play with
• Inspired by an animal trait (biomimicry)
• That makes one thing appear to be something else
• To cook with
• To help you relax
• That a pet/captive animal can play with
• That demonstrates/simulates something
• That reduces work
• That makes something boring more fun
• That represents something else
• For your room
• As a gift for someone else
• That you can wear
• That moves by itself
• That enhances an experience​ 
• That prevents an accident
• That replaces something broken

Related Blog Posts:

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