Create Your Own Challenge
Design and run your own hands-on challenge: choose materials, set rules and goals, build a prototype, test and improve, then share your results.
Step-by-step guide to Create Your Own Challenge
Top Fun Family Challenges To Do At Home (All Ages) | Our Family Vine
Step 1
Think of a fun challenge idea.
Step 2
Write the name of your idea at the top of a new page in your notebook.
Step 3
Write one clear goal for your challenge in your notebook.
Step 4
Write up to three simple rules that players must follow.
Step 5
Gather safe materials from around your home.
Step 6
Choose which materials you will use and place them on your workspace.
Step 7
Draw a simple sketch of your challenge design in your notebook.
Step 8
Build a small prototype using your chosen materials.
Step 9
Test the prototype one time and watch carefully what happens.
Step 10
Write one short sentence about what worked during the test in your notebook.
Step 11
Write one short sentence about what did not work during the test in your notebook.
Step 12
Make one specific change to improve your design.
Step 13
Test the improved prototype and note if your change helped in one short sentence.
Step 14
Prepare a short description and photos or a video of your final challenge.
Step 15
Share your finished creation on DIY.org.
Final steps
You're almost there! Complete all the steps, bring your creation to life, post it, and conquer the challenge!
Help!?
What can I use if I don't have craft glue, wooden skewers, or special tools listed in the materials step?
Use strong tape or white school glue instead of craft glue, rolled cardboard or drinking straws in place of wooden skewers, and safe household tools like blunt scissors or an adult's help for cutting, then note the substitutions in your notebook and place them on your workspace.
My small prototype fell apart during the single test—what should I try next?
Inspect the prototype to find loose joints or heavy parts, reinforce them with extra tape, glue, or by reducing weight, write what did not work in your notebook, make one specific change, and then retest.
How can I adapt the Create Your Own Challenge activity for younger or older children?
For younger kids, simplify the goal to one clear sentence, limit rules to one or two, use large, safe materials and adult help for building, while older kids can add measurements, timers, up to three rules, and a more detailed sketch and prototype on their workspace and notebook.
How can we extend or personalize the challenge after improving the prototype?
Add difficulty levels or a scoring system to your rules, decorate or customize materials, take photos or a short video of the final challenge, write a short description in your notebook, and share the finished project on DIY.org.
Watch videos on how to Create Your Own Challenge
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Facts about design and engineering for kids
🧠 Design thinking often follows five stages — empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test — great for planning a challenge.
🔁 Iteration wins: making quick improvements and testing them repeatedly usually beats waiting for a perfect first attempt.
🛠️ Low-fidelity prototypes (like paper, cardboard, or clay) are cheap and catch big design problems early.
👥 Project-based learning boosts teamwork and real-world skills because you learn by doing and solving real problems.
📣 Sharing your prototype with others often reveals surprising improvements and new ideas you didn’t think of alone.
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