This Design and technology video introduces teachers to the basics of pneumatics, helping them guide children in exploring how trapped air can create movement. It features simple, practical activities such as lifting books with inflated balloons, raising box lids using air pressure, and experimenting with syringes and tubing to demonstrate compression. These tasks help children connect everyday mechanisms to scientific principles in an engaging, hands-on way.

This video is part of Kapow Primary’s Design and technology – Pneumatic teacher videos. It breaks down technical ideas clearly, ensuring teachers feel confident and prepared to lead pneumatic investigations in the lesson below.

Design and technology, Year 3, Mechanical systems: Pneumatic toys, Lesson 1: Exploring pneumatics