Make Mechanical Toys Out of Cardboard!
Remotely Delivered Active Learning in
Engineering, Mechanics, Geometry and Design
Any Educator Can Use It Successfully
Standards Aligned for Middle Grades Internationally
Designed for busy educators who want to provide active learning in engineering with little prep, no training, and little oversight.
How It Works
1 Pick a toy from the Cardboard Toy World YouTube Channel.
2 Collect the tools and materials you’ll need: cardboard, pencil, triangle, scissors, maybe a straw and a stick, and glue.
3 Follow along with the video – every single step is shown, from blank cardboard to completed mechanical toy.
4 Decorate your toy however you want. Let your imagination run free!
Perfect for Maker Stations, After School Programs, Enrichment Camps, STEM Workshops and classroom instruction.
Free Learning Resource
Cardboard Toy World’s YouTube Channel shows everyone how to make all of the toys. You’ll need basic school supplies, a triangle (the little school supply type is perfect), and cardboard. Carton cardboard, like a cereal or pasta box, is perfect. Most print shops also sell it, and you can easily get it online. Search for “250 GSM carton board.”
Printed Blueprints
Cardboard Toy World STEM projects teach a great deal about engineering, mechanics, geometry and design even without the drafting. Get PDFs of the blueprints on Etsy, and print them directly onto cardboard. Most print shops can do this easily. Print on the “rough” side of the carton board so the “smooth” side faces out when you assemble the toy.
Coming soon!
Designed for educators who need a solution that works on its own with little prep and oversight. The Kit will include extension activities ranging from Euclidian Geometry to ancient mathematics to filmmaking. It will also include rubrics, assessments, maker station resources and educator guidelines.
Support STEM Education
When you adopt a Teacher, School, or District, you pay for the distribution of the Educator’s Resource Kit to educators who need it. You will get a physical Adoption Certificate before the holidays, so your investment can be given as a gift! Support my efforts to provide this wonderful learning experience worldwide! November 10 – December 10
Turning Cardboard into Knowledge Matters Now
There aren’t enough science and math teachers. Forty states in the US have shortages. Same problem in the European Union and everywhere else.
Scientific illiteracy is spreading. Schools try to stop it. Many schools ask educators who have degrees in other subjects to teach math and science. Educators who step up like that are heroic.
Would you like to help?
We can.
I’m Tom Bast. I taught sixth grade for over a decade. I have part of the solution to this global problem.
The Cardboard Toy World enables any educator to provide a project-based learning experience in engineering, mechanics, geometry and design. It is made for a teacher stepping outside their core subject areas to teach science and math.
All of the teaching is in videos on YouTube. It is a perfect combination of online media and hands-on active learning. When we complete a Cardboard Toy World project, schools meet national and international educational standards. To start, all we need are basic school supplies and recycled cardboard.
Learners learn by making mechanical toys. Motivation is high because it’s really satisfying to make a toy. We become toymaking engineers, from drafting to assembly, and we know the math, the geometry, and the mechanics of our toy.
Please get in touch. I would love your input 🙂
Tom
We Will Help Solve the Global STEM Education Crisis with Toymaking
Worldwide math and science scores are declining, according to both the Programme for International Student Assessment and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study.
In 2022, US students delivered their worst performance ever, ranking below average globally.
Why? Because one out of every four US school districts does not have enough STEM educators.
This is happening just as Artificial Intelligence begins to change the sciences forever. Soon, more and more engineering will be accomplished by artificial intelligence instead of humans.
To prepare for this future, learners need to be able to conceptualize how things work. We need to be able to create elaborate, precise prompts. We need to be able to look at AI-drafted plans and figure out what they mean. We need to be able to ask intelligent, precise questions.
The only people who will be in a position of power relative to artificial intelligence will be those of us who have these abilities.
Cardboard Toy World projects teach these abilities directly. At the same time, they satisfy international educational standards in design, mechanics, geometry, and engineering.
Made for Educators To Use Now
Educators can implement Cardboard Toy World units at will, with few resources and little preparation.
Cardboard Toy World videos deliver all of the instruction. Educators and schools satisfy international educational standards in design, mechanics, geometry, and engineering.
Cardboard Toy World projects are easily integrated into maker stations, independent or small group lessons, and classroom instruction.
Learners get a hands-on, deeply impactful experience of mathematical, scientific and engineering principles. We develop a comprehension of mechanics and design. We understand blueprints. We learn how to ask the right questions. We learn deduction and problem solving.
The Learner's Experience
We are highly motivated to do all of this because when we do, we become toymakers! We have made a whimsical mechanical toy to decorate, to play with and to share.
We love the projects because they are challenging while success is nearly assured. When we’re done, we have a great mechanical toy to decorate, play with, and share. We know exactly how it’s put together and how it works.
Our sense of pride and accomplishment spreads to every other subject we study, and empowers us to succeed in other areas of life.
For Educators
The Problem
Educators need trustworthy, high-quality STEM content that:
- Is fun and sparks curiosity to keep learners motivated.
- Brings joy and humor into the learning experience.
- Meets specific NCSS, CCSS-M and international standards in engineering, mechanics, design and geometry.
- Costs almost nothing to implement.
- Requires very little preparation.
- Provides clear, ready-to-watch lessons.
- Comes with assessments and rubrics.
- Has real-world applications and career possibilities.
- Integrates multiple disciplines (math, science, design) into one project.
- Meets the needs of learners with different abilities in the same classroom.
- Can be used in remote or hybrid settings.
A Solution: Cardboard Toy World
Tools needed:
- Scissors
- A triangle
- A pencil
- A way to watch the videos – a phone is great.
Materials used:
- Cereal box or carton cardboard
- Glue
A complete STEM unit is available for free on YouTube. Includes a wide variety of toymaking projects for first-timers and pros. New toys are added every month.
The videos provide standards-rich, stand-alone instruction.
Learners become toymakers independently, in groups, or as a class.
Teacher's Resource Kit
It will be available soon, and will include:
- PDFs of blueprints for the toys that can be printed
- Extension activities in trigonometry, history, design and art
- Rubrics
- Assessments
- Deep Dives
- Exact standards alignment for administrators
- Related career and degree ideas in the age of AI
Teacher's Orientation
It will also be available soon, and will be based on the extensive experience we are having as we try to contribute to our local community.
We are holding classes, working with educators, and experimenting with instructional strategies in real-world classrooms. The Teacher’s Orientation will be a thirty minute video that will give any educator a clear understanding of how to best implement Cardboard Toy World projects.
The Toymaking Videos
A Complete Standards-Aligned STEM Unit That Is Ready To Use Today
Since toymakers use sharp tools, please have everyone watch the Safety Video first. It includes a lot of pro tips that will make learners more successful.
Each toymaking video teaches exactly how to draft the blueprints for each part of the toy.
Drafting is thoroughly demonstrated, and all measurements are provided. We teach measurement, geometry, and drafting techniques.
Visual aids show how panels of the blueprint become surfaces on the completed part.
Many international standards for engineering, geometry, and mechanics are satisfied by this activity, but toymakers can skip the drafting and still meet several standards.
PDFs of the blueprints are also available, which you can print right onto cardboard.
The video shows you how to cut the blueprints, and where to score (fold) them so you can turn two-dimensional cardboard into three-dimensional shapes.
All of the toys have mechanical parts. Their mouths open and close. They can walk or jump. Their arms or wings move. Their faces change shape. The variety is extensive.
Assembly needs to be done in the right order so the moving parts will work together properly, which meets standards in mechanical and process design.
Toymaking makes abstract concepts come into focus. Toymakers can see and touch the angles, edges, and vertices. They can experiment with the levers and ball-and-socket joints, exploring how they work and why. This, too, meets several standards.
Toymakers also encounter challenges—tiny flaws, panels that don’t quite fit—and solve them in real time. This is exactly how engineers think and work.
Cardboard Toy World toys are strong, durable and meant to be played with. They make amazing gifts.
More on the International Standards Met
In the United States, toymaking maps cleanly to the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSS-M) for engineering design and geometry. That means you can confidently integrate Cardboard Toy World projects knowing they check the boxes for:
- Geometry: Understanding and creating shapes, nets, angles, and proportions.
- Engineering Design: Identifying problems, developing prototypes, testing solutions, and refining designs.
- Measurement & Data: Accurately measuring lengths, angles, and dimensions to create working parts.
- Systems Thinking: Recognizing how parts interact within a whole.
In the United Kingdom, these same mappings apply to the National Curriculum for England, particularly in the subjects of Design & Technology and Mathematics.
Germany’s federal educational standards (Bildungsstandards) place a significant emphasis on integrated studies (Sachunterricht) in primary school. The Cardboard Toy World combines engineering, structural design, process design, crafts and art.
India’s National Education Policy 2020 champions a holistic approach that integrates arts, crafts, and technical skills. The Cardboard Toy World content is perfectly aligned with this pedagogical vision, meeting several engineering and math standards upheld by the Central Board of Secondary Education.
In Australia, the Cardboard Toy World fits perfectly into the Technologies learning area, specifically within Design and Technologies, as well as the Mathematics and Science curricula.
Please find detailed mappings of Cardboard Toy World projects to required academic standards in our “For Educators” blog. Please search for your country to find 2025 mappings to your national standards (state standards coming soon!).
Why You Can Trust This Resource
I’ve been in your position. As a teacher, I know the importance of lessons that are both educational and achievable.
You can be confident that the instructions are clear and accessible to students of different skill levels.
You can know that the content is educationally rigorous while being fun.
And you know you have everything you need to start immediately—no guesswork required.
Your Learners' Favorite Lesson
When students see a sheet of cardboard become a toy that moves, something inside them clicks.
They see themselves as makers, problem-solvers, and inventors. That mindset carries over into every other subject you teach.
The Wonder of Making Toys Out of Cardboard
When I was a little boy my grandfather taught me how to make a box.
He once had a box making factory in Rhode Island, making boxes for jars and cans and machine parts.
He taught me the simplest type of box, but something clicked in my mind and for the next several years I made hundreds of toys out of cardboard. I used cardboard from ordinary boxes, such as cereal boxes, and the simplest tools imaginable.
I’m a grown-up now, but over the years I always loved to do origami. Co-workers would collect the animals I had made during our meetings.
My mission with Cardboard Toy World is to spread the joy of making toys out of cardboard while at the same time helping educators meet educational standards in engineering and geometry.
But the main thing is the making activity itself. Everything about this activity has a positive impact on the maker.
The activity itself is pretty much the opposite of typing on a keyboard or working a game controller. Yet, you’re watching a video, so it’s not a rejection of screens, either. It’s a perfect use of one.
Working with your hands improves your overall brain function. This has been proven in many international studies.
Drafting teaches measurement and logic while assembling the toy teaches both two- and three-dimensional geometry.
These plans are perfect for school projects, for classroom activities, and for science fairs – at school or homeschooled.
Everyone knows that making a toy ends with a smile. How can you not smile when you’ve made a toy with funny faces? The smile at the end of the making experience might be the best part of the whole thing!
I hope you enjoy my cardboard toy making videos. They are detailed and complete so anyone, even a complete beginner, can succeed at making toys.
I would love to hear from you! Please comment on the videos or reply to any email I send you and I’ll do my best to respond.
Tom
