Monster Claws: Answers for Educators and Program Leaders
Monster Claws: Answers for Educators and Program Leaders
Monster Claws is a FutureMakers Spark where learners build a working pneumatic claw from cardboard levers, pistons, and cylinders connected by a tube. It is a 30 to 45 minute screen-free activity for grade 4 and up, and it is the more advanced of two FutureMakers Sparks built around the same pneumatic system, alongside Monster Mouths.
Last reviewed September 24, 2026
How to buy
Which Monster Claws pack should I buy?
For one learner, the Single Learner Pack costs $8.95. For a class or program, the Small Group Pack of 10 costs $69.50, or $6.95 per learner, and the Class Pack of 25 costs $122.00, or $4.88 per learner. Small Group and Class Pack orders both qualify for purchase orders and tax-exempt purchasing; check "Our organization is tax-exempt" in the quote builder and enter your tax ID number, or submit your tax ID number and a tax-exempt certificate through a free store account if buying directly.
Can I order fewer than 10 Monster Claws kits if my group is smaller?
Yes. Small Group Packs and Class Packs come in fixed sizes of 10 and 25, but the $8.95 Single Learner Pack lets a program order any exact quantity below 10. This is the option FutureMakers points buyers to when a real order does not divide evenly into a full 10-pack.
Can I use a purchase order or tax-exempt status to buy Monster Claws?
Yes. Monster Claws Small Group and Class Pack orders qualify for purchase orders on Net 15 terms and for tax-exempt purchasing, the same as every FutureMakers Spark. See the full how to buy FAQ for purchase order terms, vendor paperwork, and the tax-exempt steps.
Monster Claws pack sizes and live prices
Pack
Units
Price
Per learner
Single Learner Pack
1
$8.95
$8.95
Small Group Pack
10
$69.50
$6.95
Class Pack
25
$122.00
$4.88
About the project
What do learners make with Monster Claws, and what's the big idea?
Monster Claws learners build a working pneumatic claw from laser-cut cardboard levers, two pistons and cylinders, and a connecting tube, so pulling a handle closes the claw and pushing it opens the claw. The big idea is pneumatics, moving things with air pressure, combined with a multi-lever system that has to balance correctly to work. FutureMakers' own guide states the rule plainly: one piston has to be fully in while the other is fully out for the force transfer to work at all. See the full Monster Claws guide for the complete build.
What is pneumatics, and how does Monster Claws use it?
Pneumatics is the science of moving things with air pressure instead of a motor or a string. In Monster Claws, two piston-and-cylinder pairs connect through a flexible tube: pushing or pulling one piston pushes air through the tube, which moves the second piston, which is attached to the claw's lever arms. The key rule is that one piston has to sit fully in while the other sits fully out before you connect the tube, or there is no room for air to move. FutureMakers uses this same pneumatic system in Monster Mouths, where the same push and pull opens and closes a mouth instead of a claw.
What extensions are there for early finishers or older learners?
Early finishers can run the Engineering Improvements extension, designing a custom gripper for round, soft, or tiny objects, or try the Air Pressure Feel Test to feel compressed air resist before ever connecting the tube. Older learners get a Hydraulics Challenge, swapping air for a small amount of colored water in one cylinder to compare the two systems, and a Pneumatic Relay Race where teams carry increasingly challenging objects using only their claws.
Using it in a session
How long does a Monster Claws session take?
A Monster Claws session runs 50 minutes, the time the guide page states, longer than the 20 to 45 minute range on all three Shopify listings. That core build time covers the pneumatic claw; the Hydraulics Challenge and Pneumatic Relay Race extensions run as separate follow-on activities.
How many learners does one pack serve, and how should I group them?
Monster Claws is a 1:1 build, so a Small Group Pack of 10 serves 10 learners and a Class Pack of 25 serves 25, each finishing their own claw. The Pneumatic Relay Race extension is team-based, but every learner still keeps and uses their own individual claw during the race rather than sharing one build.
What does an educator need to prepare and supply for Monster Claws?
The core build needs no outside supplies at all; every piston, cylinder, tube, lever, and fastener is in the kit. For the extensions, have scrap cardboard, scissors, and craft supplies ready for custom grippers, water and food coloring for the Hydraulics Challenge, and a few small objects on hand for the Pneumatic Relay Race. Prep takes about 5 to 10 minutes, per the product listing.
What does a first successful Monster Claws build look like?
A first success is a claw that closes fully when the free handle is pulled and opens fully when the handle is pushed, every time. FutureMakers' guide describes this project as complicated and one that requires real focus, so getting a claw to move all the way in both directions, instead of stopping partway, is the milestone before any extension.
What are the most common problems and fixes?
Three problems cover most Monster Claws troubleshooting. The claw only opens or closes a little: the cylinders are unbalanced, so disconnect the tube, push one piston all the way in and pull the other all the way out, then reconnect. The claw does not move at all: check that both tube connections are fully pushed and twisted on. The claw is slow or floppy: check that every fastener is pressed through firmly and the arms are fully opened on the back. Full troubleshooting is on the Monster Claws guide's troubleshooting section.
Standards and skills
What academic standards does Monster Claws align to?
Monster Claws carries specific NGSS, Common Core ELA, and Common Core Math codes on its guide, written for grades 3 through 8. There is no kindergarten to grade 2 band, since the guide itself starts at 3rd grade, and the guide page also lists it as Grade 3 and up, one grade below the "grade 4 and up" floor stated on the Shopify listing. NGSS codes cover forces, energy transfer, and evaluating competing design solutions, and the guide does not carry National Core Arts Standards or CASEL social-emotional competency codes. The full table of codes is below.
Where can I find the full Monster Claws guide and video?
Every code below appears on kidsmakethingsbetter.com/inst/monster-claws. No K-2 band, National Core Arts Standards, or CASEL codes appear on the guide.
Standard family
Code
What it covers
NGSS
3-PS2-1
Forces and Interactions: Cause and Effect
NGSS
3-5-ETS1-3
Plan and carry out fair tests to identify failure points
NGSS
MS-PS3-5
Construct an explanation of energy transfer
NGSS
MS-ETS1-2
Evaluate competing design solutions
Common Core ELA
RI.3-5.3
Explain relationships between concepts in a text
Common Core ELA
W.3-5.2
Write informative texts to examine a topic
Common Core ELA
RST.6-8.3
Follow a multistep procedure carrying out experiments
Common Core ELA
SL.6-8.1
Engage in collaborative discussions with diverse partners
Common Core Math
3.MD.B.4
Generate measurement data by measuring lengths
Common Core Math
4.OA.C.5
Generate and analyze patterns
Common Core Math
6.RP.A.1
Understand ratio concepts and use ratio reasoning
Common Core Math
8.G.C.9
Know the formulas for volumes of cones, cylinders, and spheres
Who uses it and how
Do camps and after-school programs actually buy Monster Claws?
Yes. Baltimore County Recreation and Parks included Monster Claws in a 12-Spark, $3,544.50 order placed in 2025, and FutureMakers followed up with in-person staff training in January 2026. See our after-school and summer programs answers page for how camps and rec departments buy across a full Spark catalogue.
Do community organizations order Monster Claws for multi-station events?
Yes. A YMCA affiliate ordered five Class Packs of 25, including Monster Claws, Flying Machines, Straw Structures, Drawbots, and Electric Vehicles, delivered in 2026 as a multi-Spark, multi-station order. See our community schools answers page for how programs build multi-station events around several Sparks at once.
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