Design a Mad Science film set

What can we use instead of small plastic bottles, foil, or LED lights if we can't find them?

If you don't have the small plastic bottles for potions use empty spice jars or cut-down yogurt pots, replace foil for metallic effects with silver-painted paper or aluminum tape, and swap battery-powered LED lights for small flashlight LEDs or a string of fairy lights positioned under props.

My cardboard walls keep falling over or the corners look messy—how can we make the room sturdy?

Reinforce the folded wall tabs by gluing or taping them to the base and add small folded-card braces glued into each corner before you attach the walls to the base so the room stays upright.

How can we adapt the project for younger children or older kids who want more challenge?

For younger kids have an adult cut the cardboard and let them color walls, stick foil, arrange potion bottles and tease the cotton wool, while older kids can draw the floor plan, cut and fold walls, build the lab table, wire LED lights to the battery pack with supervision, and film scenes with a smartphone.

What are some fun ways to extend or personalize our mad scientist film set after finishing the basic build?

Enhance the set by adding colored cellophane over LEDs for spooky lighting, create a fake bubbling effect with a tiny battery fan behind teased cotton wool, add handwritten labels to potion bottles, and try stop-motion or sound effects when filming with your smartphone.