Have you heard of fidget spinners? Originally introduced as a fidget tool for kids with ADHD or autism spectrum disorder, they have exploded in popularity with kids everywhere! My boys heard about them from neighbor kids and wanted one of their own, so we ordered one from Amazon. I’ve gotta say – it’s a fun little gadget that demonstrates some neat properties of physics!
Aidan (age 13) has been working for a couple of weeks to design a fidget spinner out of LEGO® bricks. The real ones spin for a longer time, but his version has a satisfying spin and is a fun build! Challenge kids to build one with our design or to create their own. Can they figure out the best way to distribute the weight and reduce friction between the moving parts?
This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
Hold the fidget spinner by placing one finger on each side.
Then use your thumb or finger to give it a spin!
Here are the bricks needed to build one:
Start by putting a 4 x 4 round plate on both the top and bottom of a 6 x 6 round plate. Slide one of the 2 x 2 round tiles (with a round hole) onto the axle. You’ll need an axle that is 3 studs long with a stud on the end.
Part number for 2 x 2 round tile with hole: 15535
Part number for axle: 6587
Place the turquoise round plate on the axle. Add another 2 x 2 round tile to the axle. Attach it to the dark red round plate.
Slide a 2 x 2 round plate (with an x shaped hole) onto the top of the axle. Leave some space so that the spinner is free to turn.
We found that our spinner would spin for a longer time if we added arms. The additional weight seems to give the spinner more momentum.
Place a 2 x 3 plate under the turquoise round plate. Then add a 2 x 2 plate and another 2 x 3 plate.
Add all four arms, and your spinner is ready to go!
To spin it, place one finger on each side as shown below.
Have fun building! Here’s a video that shows Aidan’s spinner in action, and he also demonstrates how to build it.
Need more LEGO ideas?
This site is full of LEGO® project ideas, such as a working candy dispenser, minions, STEM projects, and more. Browse through all of our ideas!
You will also want to check out our LEGO® book! It’s called Awesome LEGO® Creations with Bricks You Already Have, and it’s packed with 50 new LEGO® projects. There are robots, dragons, airplanes, animals, working machines, and more. Most LEGO® books don’t have instructions, but ours does! Some of the projects are open-ended or can be figured out with the photos provided, but others have step-by-step instructions.
COMING SOON… OCTOBER 2017! Our second LEGO® book will release on October 10th! Epic LEGO® Adventures with Bricks You Already Have contains five funny stories to read, and then there are step-by-step instructions for each of the projects in the stories. I’m super excited about this one because it will be such a springboard for imaginative play and building! Pre-order now and your copy will arrive on release day.
LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO® group of companies which does not sponsor, authorize, or endorse this site.
48 Comments
Gina Bell May 4, 2017
This is seriously awesome! My boys would love these.
Robin May 18, 2017
I also bought my kids fidget spinners. I read they are stress reducing. I hope they arrive soon :)
Aiden May 19, 2017
They reduce stress and the amount of time your kids pay attention in school. Trust me, I'm a student myself
Imani Aug 14, 2018
I love them, they help me focus and I am a almost 40yr old adult
Alexa Dec 11, 2017
Yeah my mom got this fidget spinner that glowes
Sophie May 26, 2017
thanks a lot ! My pupils can do this in my classroom !
Michele Spring May 5, 2017
THANK YOU - you know how many stores I've gone to in the last few days looking for one of these fidget spinner things? Ack! They are sold out everywhere, and we ordered one on Amazon but it said it won't be here until mid-June (even though when I initially ordered it it said next week). So now my 7 yr old son is upstairs gathering his legos to make this one and is so excited! :-) (Things sure were much easier in the days before they knew what was popular!)
Sarah May 6, 2017
I can't believe Amazon is sold out! We bought one a few weeks ago while they were only mildly popular. Then all of a sudden it exploded! I hope he was able to get the Lego version to work!
Janel May 5, 2017
We almost had all the pieces except for the big circle desk but somehow I managed to tweak it and make it kind of work
Sarah May 6, 2017
That's great! :-)
Carly May 8, 2017
What did you do to tweak it? We don't have the big circle and my son wants to make one...
Mark May 12, 2017
I did not have the large round plate ether so i built it with 4 4/2 plates and put 2/1 plates on the top and bottom of one side and put the 4 arms and put those in the place of the large circle.
N.S Jun 9, 2017
Me too. I didn't have an axle, I just used a broken pole. It works!
Meridith May 5, 2017
Ok. These are not your average pieces.
Where Does one find these legos to build this spinner?
Debbie May 6, 2017
You can try bricklink.com
Sarah May 6, 2017
The turquoise circle came in one of the yellow classic tubs - I can't remember which one. The other ones are from random sets! We like to use Brick Link for ordering individual pieces. http://bricklink.com
Jerri Dyke May 15, 2017
Thank you @Sarah
assasin May 10, 2017
at your local lego store that holds like all the lego pieces in the back
Jerri Dyke May 15, 2017
I was wondering the same. I was hoping for an Amazon link to buy the pieces.
Thomas May 29, 2017
ToyBurg has all the parts for $1.23 if you are making 6 or more of them. Otherwise you might need to pick and choose stores.
LeeAnne McRobb Jul 25, 2017
They are average pieces if you have a ton of sets. We were able to make dozens mind you we are insane Lego junkies
Maria Calzada Oliva May 6, 2017
Hi! My children have been asking me to buy them a fidge spinner and as I kept saying no she came down two days ago with a homemade lego one, very happy with it!! I don't know how can I send you the photos. Then I show her your pieces and she made the same ine, a bit modified but lovely!
Sarah May 6, 2017
How fun! I'd love to see pictures of her design! You can post pictures on our Facebook page. Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/FrugalFun4Boys/
Mary May 8, 2017
wow! Thanks for this idea....I think the spinners are a bit annoying :-) but will show the plans to my boys so that they can each make one.
Robert May 6, 2017
Thanks! I enjoyed making this. I have 20,000 Lego pieces so I had all the parts lol
Linda May 6, 2017
We didn't have exact pieces but modified it a bit and they love it
Lisa May 7, 2017
Thank you! The lego fidget was a HUGE success with my boys! We found identical pieces as yours to make one, then had to improvise for the other two. It made for a great learning experience!
Kelley Carney May 7, 2017
Thank you for this share. I can't wait to show and challenge my grandson.
Lorena May 8, 2017
This is awesome! My son is going to love building this.
The spinners have exploded in popularity at my kids school as well, every child "has to have one" I personally don't see the wow but kids are something else lol
For parents having a hard time finding them...try your local swap meet or flea market, they are available in abundance there for about 5 bucks. Local 7-11 stores carry them for about 8 bucks.
My son got a batman spinner for $5 and a light up one for $8
Build your own is going to blow him away. I can already see my husband pulling out ball bearings to supe it up.
Michelle May 8, 2017
I would find it helpful if you put up the design ID number for each brick it is printed on them
Sarah May 9, 2017
Michelle, I added the design ID number for the hard to find pieces! Those are in the post now.
Stephanie May 8, 2017
How much do peices cost for the spinner
Emma May 9, 2017
Hi the grey small circles are they normal ones with cut outs or others?
Sarah May 9, 2017
The gray circles are 2 x 2 tiles with a round hole - LEGO part #15535
Rachel May 19, 2017
thats the part i can't find (and i was also thinking it would be super awesome to order the parts to make multiples of these, make a printable direction sheet, and give them out as party favors!) but when i search on the lego.com pick a brick section, that number doesn't bring up anything! Had this same problem trying to look up some parts for a lego fidget cube i saw on another blog that had several obscure technic pieces I don't have. Part numbers for all of them, but can't search for them on lego.com? have to awkwardly search by category. Where are these part numbers coming from?
Sarah May 20, 2017
Rachel, the part numbers are located on each LEGO brick. They are very tiny! I don't know why that part number isn't coming up on Lego.com. I agree that their system is cumbersome. Here's a link to the part on Brick Link. I prefer to order from Brick Link because orders arrive much more quickly. It's similar to eBay, but with LEGO bricks. https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=15535&name=Tile,%20Round%202%20x%202%20with%20Hole&category=%5BTile,%20Round%5D#T=C
Michelle May 9, 2017
My son came home today and asked if I would buy him one of these, then this one popped up on my pinterest feed. Thank you so much for the tutorial. He just finished building it and loves it!
cari May 10, 2017
this is awsome! Thanks for sharing. My grandson loves building with legos. He's going to love this.
Ben May 13, 2017
Great works great only took about 20mins to make and find the pieces
Kelley Jul 27, 2017
Hi Ben - were you able to find the pieces in the classic lego set?
Gina Spengel May 13, 2017
Our guy loved it! Spins so well. Thanks for the timely build.
Rebecca May 14, 2017
Cool I love it ???
Amanda May 16, 2017
My kids had so much fun building these! They still begged for store bought spinners and I finally caved. To keep the spinner fun going I created a board game that uses the spinners. We've had so much fun playing it. Its available to download on my blog, http://www.namesakedesign.com/2017/05/are-fidget-spinners-driving-you-crazy.html, if anyone is interested.
Melinda May 17, 2017
For some reason when I asked my principal if he wanted me to teach the kids how to do this he said NO!! I will however be teaching my grandsons to make them, (but not to take to school!!)
Patrick Blackburn May 18, 2017
How do i get the pieces to make the lego spinner without having to buy the whole lego kits to get them
Sarah May 20, 2017
Patrick, we really like to order from Lego.com's Pick A Brick section or from Brick Link. (http://bricklink.com). I actually prefer Brick Link because orders arrive more quickly. The site works like eBay with many different sellers.
Estelle May 18, 2017
Hello,
I didn't foundd all the piece in the brick shop lego to built this spinner hand.
Where can I found it ? please
Sorry I'm french
Misty Cox May 23, 2017
My son is so excited about this!!!
lillian May 24, 2017
Mine was a little different becuase I didn't have the same any of it but it still worked
angela mckinney May 26, 2017
awesome it looks so cool but i have two fidget spinners but i lost my in the coach when i was spinning it every day i try to get it out but i can't so when my mom takes the coach apert i will get it i hope one day my mom can get it outany ways love your videos!!!!
Thelma May 30, 2017
Genius! My son took one look at this and ran for his Lego box! Thanks for the terrific idea!
xoxo
Carissa Bonham Jun 4, 2017
Thanks for the great post! I went to Bricks and Minifigs today to get all the pieces to make it and they said this last week your tutorial has become so popular that they are all out of those round pieces! I ended up finding a different way to make a fidget spinner that I published on my site today but I still link back to you because yours is great. Good job!
Debbie Jun 12, 2017
This is such a great project. I would love to kits together to have the kids make them at school. The only trouble is you can not get the Lego to make the spinner. If you have ore resources than I know of it would be great to share. The Lego site does not have all the pieces for sale to do this project.
Sarah Jun 13, 2017
Try Brick Link! (http://bricklink.com). I just ordered more of the 2 x 2 gray tiles with the hole in the center. You can find all of the pieces there! Just keep in mind that the site is made up of many different vendors, like eBay.
Liz P Jun 23, 2017
Love it! Great way to save $10.
My 7 year old's hands were too small to make it spin smoothly so we replaced the 2x6 and 2x2 plates with 2x2s and 1x2s and used a 5-stud axle. He's thrilled with his new fidget spinner.
Sam Jul 3, 2017
I love my new fidget spinner!!! thx so much:D
kelly Jul 11, 2017
This is great, my son & I just spent a fun hour putting together "lego fidget spinner challenge" kits to use at his birthday party, thank you for the great idea!
zafar Jul 20, 2017
[…] Build a LEGO Fidget Spinner […]
LeeAnne McRobb Jul 25, 2017
Crazy my son is 10 and had this design mastered months ago along with dozens of other designs. He was being offered money at his school to purchase the spinners. His design is almost the same using less bricks making it somewhat lighter and having more spinning action. But great job to Aidan and all the master builders out there :))
Tessa Aug 20, 2017
I just fineshed making this with my son, he loves it ! Thank you for sharing!
kasam tere pyaar ki Oct 6, 2017
to build a Lego fidget spinner from Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls using 2×2 and 2×3 Lego plates. No bearings required for this spinner
kasamterepyaarki Oct 7, 2017
This is great, my son & I just spent a fun hour putting together “lego fidget spinner challenge” kits to use at his birthday party, thank you for the great idea!
Sarah Oct 9, 2017
Oh that's great! :-)
Dekho.to Oct 10, 2017
my brother is crazy about fidget spinner will try this tonight with him :)
Tom Nov 12, 2017
That's great thanks for tips Sarah!
Alexa Apr 11, 2018
Thats cool
parmeet singh Apr 18, 2018
thanks for sharing beaultiful post
Bilal Khan Dec 26, 2018
my childhood was awesome with that .. nice article .. :)
Sajjad Ahmad Jan 5, 2019
This is helpful to make domestic fidget with bricks great ideas.
Asad Feb 7, 2019
Wow! this tutorial is very helpful to build a fidget spinner. thanks!
prabin shrestha Feb 19, 2019
This tutorial is very nice to build a fidget spinner for my son! thanks for your a great idea
Infolearning Feb 21, 2019
Amazing Lego Mega Constructions That Are Just Too Majestic http://www.dailyamericanbuzz.com/2015/05/amazing-lego-mega-constructions-that.html
Hunter Mar 21, 2020
thanks sarah I am a Lego freak and yours was the first spinner I made out of legos andnow I have 5 different ones
Gopal dhoke May 29, 2020
This is very good post thanks for sharing us
Rachel Aug 2, 2022
We couldn't find the right kind of axle and couldn't get it spinning quite right, so we took a second circle plate with a hole in the center and turned the fidget spinner into a top by setting plate on the floor, putting the end of the axle into the hole on the circle plate, and spinning the axle like a top. My 9 year old is highly entertained!
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