Electric Motors Catalyst Kit

Spark innovation with this screen-free engineering kit!
Mechanical thinking skills for grades 3-6.

The Catalyst Kit engages students in engineering using real materials—like wood parts, screws, wingnuts, and L-brackets—paired with motors and battery packs to create working circuits. Students quickly see how everyday hardware connects to scientific principles, making abstract concepts tangible. Each kit serves 1–2 students.

What’s Inside 
Over 50 high-quality components, including motors, wood parts, real hardware and tools, batteries, and challenge cards—everything needed to invent a unique machine. 

Purchases of these single kits will not include supplemental curriculum aligned to NGSS standards and designed for K-5 classrooms. Curriculum is only included with purchases of the Catalyst Class Pack and Cabinet.

Designed for Learning

• Minimal prep, maximum impact: Everything you need is in the box, from batteries to brainstorming paper. Just open and go.
• Screen-free and NGSS-aligned: Students practice engineering design and physical science standards without devices or logins.
• Goal-directed but unscripted: With 10 challenge cards, students get direction without step-by-step instructions, encouraging them to problem-solve and think creatively.

Why Teachers Love It 

1. Quick builds, lasting engagement: Challenges can be started and completed within a class period, but students are motivated to keep tinkering. 
2. Authentic engineering: Using the same kinds of materials found in real machines, students experience what it’s like to be inventors, not just builders. 
3. Reusable and open-ended: The kit is designed to be made, unmade, and remade—again and again. 

Single Kit Includes:

• Electric Components:
  • 2 Electric Motors with Detachable Wires
  • 1 Battery Pack with Switch
  • 2 AA Batteries
• Wooden Components:
  • 1 Wooden Chassis
  • 12 Wooden Wheels in 6 Sizes
  • 6 Wooden Connectors in 3 Shapes
• Hardware & Connectors:
  • 2 Metal Axles
  • 4 Metal L-Brackets
  • 10 Small Bolts with Wing Nuts
    
  • 2 Metal Springs
  • 12 Bushings for Motor and Axle Connections
  • 12 Rubber Bands
• Tools & Supplies:
  • 1 Pair of Safety Glasses, Child Size
  • 3 Washable Markers
  • 1 Large 3-Foot Wide Paper Work Surface
  • 1 Full-Size Phillips Head Screwdriver
• Storage:
  • 1 Cloth Storage Bag
  • 1 Clear-Top Metal Hardware Tin
• Extras:
  
  • 10 Challenge Cards
  • 1 Clear Challenge Card Holder
  • 1 Safety Tips Card
  • 22-Page Building Techniques Booklet

Ready to supercharge your designs? We offer a Catalyst Booster Bundle (1-2 students) to expand your build options! 

Serving a larger group of students? You'll want the Class Pack and Cabinet to secure over 100 pages of printed and bound curriculum (15-30 students).