I grew up in the era of Evel Kneivel and That’s Incredible.

Daredevil antics and never-been-before-attempted feats fascinated me. That’s probably why one of the single greatest moments of my life was the day I set a Guinness World Record. And then less than a week later I set another.

You want to talk bucket list?

Those two pieces of paper are my Stanley Cup, and my Oscar. They are what 11 year old me dreamed and dreamed and dreamed about.  And I did it twice.

Think about it, a Guinness World Record is something that has NEVER been done in human history. Before I played netball for 61 hours straight, nobody had ever done it. Ever! Before I joined nearly 1000 men to have PSA tests for prostate cancer, a group so committed to the cause had never gathered.

Setting a Guinness World Record is a Neil Armstrong moment, you are the first. The first!

It’s that kind of infinite moonshot dreaming that makes childhood so magical. Kids don’t understand the impossible. The magical belief in Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and monsters under their bed tells them that anything anywhere is possible at anytime – as long as you believe.

And now your kids can help set a Guinness World Record.

Nat Geo Kids and Toyota Highlander are creating the world’s largest toilet-paper-roll sculpture this spring in the shape of a rocket!

They need about 5,000 toilet-paper-roll tubes to build a rocket sculpture big enough to set the record. And that’s where the kids come in.

1. Collect some toilet-paper-roll tubes. They should not have any toilet paper on them.

2. The tubes can be any size or brand but must have been used for toilet paper.

3. If you decorate your rolls, be sure to send in a permission form.(You don’t need to fill out the form if you’re not decorating your rolls.)

4. Send as many rolls as you wish to:

Nat Geo Kids / Set a Guinness World Record
1145 17th St. NW
Washington, DC 20036

Rolls must be received by May 5, 2017.

How epic is that?!

Grab all the doo-de-doos in your house and send them in over the next few months. And while you’re collecting your pile of paper rolls, use them as an introduction to space themed STEM projects. Nat Geo Kids has got some great space ones on their website.

While the engineers get working on their toilet paper rocket, your kids can learn all about propulsion by racing rocket balloons.  A straw,some string, a couple of chairs and a lot of lung power is all you’ll need!

If they’d like a more ‘rocket’ looking rocket, take a few of the paper towel tubes that aren’t eligible for the toilet paper roll project, and create one that will blast off for real. The hardest part of building this rocket is finding a 35-mm film canister, but solve that riddle and your kids could go to Mars (or at least a few feet off the ground).

And if they really need some YouTube action, check out this Nat Geo Kids playlist of solar system videos!

Think about it, our kids are going to be the ones that go to Mars. When we visited Kennedy Space Centre last year, Mars was the big focus and exploring the red planet was on everyone’s mind. Our kids will be the ones leading the missions over the next 20 – 50 years.

Talk about tackling what we previously thought was impossible. Kids are the best.

This post is sponsored by Nat Geo Kids and Toyota Highlander.

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