Rock Paper Spinner - Potential Energy

The spinner itself is simple but the little experiments that come with it got my kids thinking about stored energy without realizing they were learning. Took them about an afternoon to work through the first build, and now they keep tweaking it to see how high they can get the spin.

My 8-year-old figured out on his own that winding it tighter makes it spin longer, and now he keeps testing different amounts. The whole thing is basically a mini physics lesson disguised as a fidget toy, which is exactly what I hoped for.

The spinning mechanism makes potential energy tangible, and my daughter loved adjusting the release height to see how fast it goes. It's a clever way to sneak in some engineering thinking during playtime.