NJ schoolkids build fidget spinners in science class

NEW JERSEY (FOX 5 NEWS) - As classrooms everywhere ban kids from using the insanely popular fidget spinner, Christopher Columbus School No. 15 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, is taking a different spin by turning it into a science project.

Principal Antonio DiFonzo says the school turned the distraction into a learning experience. Fourth graders are building their own fidget spinner using paper, toothpicks, bolts, and more with the help of seventh graders who are learning about Sir Isaac Newton and the laws of motion. The kids learned about the use of ball bearings and the art of balance.

Science teacher Anitha Raghavendra says her seventh graders have done a lot of work and have learned a lot.

Gianfranco Guarraci, a seventh grader, says another lesson can be learned, too -- one that he thinks other classrooms should heed. He said that instead of dismissing fidget spinners as causing harm, use them to learn.