ScienceArtStorytelling

Futures Museum

Grades 6-860-90 minSource: Creative Dad Company

Students make a museum exhibit of invented objects from the future, like a 2075 recycling bin or a school desk built for a changing climate. Each one is backed by real science reasoning about how the future could believably get there. It is design about the future that is based on real evidence.

Budget levels

Amazon prices checked Oct 9-10, 2026 and may change

Materials links go to Amazon. Prices are estimates and may change. As an Amazon Associate, Creative Dad Company earns from qualifying purchases.

Quick Start

Digital downloads only.

$0 to buy. Printing noted separately.

Student time: one class period, one day.

Teacher prep / build-ahead: separate from student time.

Scale it

The default plan is one class period on a single day.

Scale back: Fit it into a shorter period, use fewer effects, or run a demo instead of a build.

Scale up: Add one extra effect, or spread the share-out across another day.

Ambiance video

Ambiance video coming soon from Creative Dad Studio

Science fact cards or short articles on each trendPrintinguse what you have
design brief templatePrintinguse what you have

Full Experience

Required materials for the class.

$0 per class (class of about 30, 6 groups).

Student time: one day.

Teacher prep / build-ahead: separate from student time.

Scale it

The default plan is one school day.

Scale back: Fit the build into one period with fewer effects.

Scale up: Spread the work across days, or add more effects.

Total Transformation

The bigger kit, with every optional item included.

$0 per class (class of about 30, 6 groups).

Student time: one day (one session, one-day event).

Teacher prep / build-ahead: separate from student time.

Scale it

The default plan is one session, a one-day event.

Scale back: Shorten the event, or run a demo for a smaller audience.

Scale up: Spread the build and the event across days, or invite a bigger audience.

Materials

Materials for a model of the object (open choice); Paper or card for a placard; Science fact cards or short articles on each trend; design brief template

Materials links go to Amazon. Prices are estimates and may change.

As an Amazon Associate, Creative Dad Company earns from qualifying purchases.

Materials for a model of the object
Materials for a model of the object (open choice)
No link
Paper
Paper or card for a placard
No link

Steps

Pick a real trend now, like rising sea levels, hotter summers, or better batteries, and predict an object from 50 years in the future that it might shape.
Research the science: gather at least two facts from provided articles or data cards (for example, sea level is rising about 3 to 4 mm per year, or dark surfaces absorb more sunlight and heat up). Record the source of each fact.
Write a design brief for the object: a one-sentence problem statement, at least three measurable criteria (for example, keeps a desktop 5 degrees C cooler than a normal desk under a heat lamp, or holds 10 kg), and at least three constraints (size, materials, cost, energy use).
Add to the brief the science principle that limits the design and at least one impact on people (who could be left out, safety) and one on the natural environment (materials, waste, energy) that rules out some possible designs.
Peer check: a classmate marks any criterion or constraint that cannot be measured or checked. Rewrite those until every one has a number or a clear yes/no test.
Build a model of the object and write a museum placard explaining how it meets each line of the brief.
Have a classmate challenge how believable the object is, find the weak spot in the brief or reasoning, and revise both the brief and the placard.

Standards mapped

NGSS · MS-ETS1-1
Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.