Defying Gravity in Your Homeschool
Yo-Yo's and Spinning Tops
Exploring a spinning top can do more than entertain. The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago shares a great activity that shows how weight distribution and design can change how long a spinner resists gravity and stays upright. These simple DIY projects, from toothpick tops to circle spinners made of cereal boxes and pennies, make an excellent starting point for a spinning tops science lesson at home.
If you want to go a step further, TryEngineering offers a detailed guide for tinkering with tops that walks learners through designing and testing their own spinners. This hands-on challenge is a natural fit for homeschool science, encouraging creativity and experimentation. Students will be able to explore the history of the spinning top, learn about the types and elements of a top, and experiment with how small changes in balance or shape affect stability and spin time.
You can explore physics even further by examining how yo-yos work. Learn how they transform potential energy into kinetic energy, and how concepts like torque and rotational inertia are at play every time a yo-yo moves up and down its string. Linking the tricks—like “Walk the Dog” or “Around the World”—to physics makes for exciting yo-yo STEM experiments. Students can test, time, and compare tricks while learning why each motion looks and feels different.
This video from Scitech’s Toy Tear Down breaks down the physics in a way that’s fun and accessible. It even explores how the concepts relate to modern space exploration.
Take your yo-yo studies even farther with these six yo-yo tricks every beginner should learn and develop some practical skills to pair with the science.
Gravity, inertia, tension, and angular momentum aren’t abstract ideas when you’re experimenting with a yo-yo or designing the longest-spinning top. Whether you lean into tinkering, tricks, or testing spin times, these toys offer an engaging way to turn everyday play into memorable homeschool science.
*This article was originally posted on the Home Educators Association of Virginia (HEAV) blog. Used by permission. https://heav.org/homeschool-science-yoyos-tops/
Megan Mora Fuentes
A homeschool graduate, Megan earned her associate degree while in high school. She has worked as an office manager for eight years. In her spare time, Megan enjoys kayaking, writing, and baking cookies for anyone who will eat them. She and her husband live in her hometown of Winchester.
