Spinning plates look easy to learn, but they take a little perseverance. There’s not much to it, but on the first try, it might be more challenging than you think.

The good news? The hardest part is getting it spinning with one hand. Once you’ve got the knack, it’s easy to try other tricks!

An excellent prop for kids, the instruction needed is minimal, and once you start, it’s hard not to try for “one more go”.

Low cost and robust. Spinning plates are ubiquitous for circus workshops, but they’re also great for family gatherings, festivals, camping trips, and anywhere you need a fun game everyone can play.

Now you’ve got it spinning, what else can you do?

Loads! A few ideas are below, but the limit to what you can do is your imagination.

• Balancing – balance the stick (with the plate) on your finger, chin, forehead, or foot! Replace the stick with your finger while the plate is spinning.

• Catching – throw the plate in the air and catch it. Throw the plate in the air and catch it on the other end of the stick! Put a stick in each hand and pass to the other hand, even get one plate spinning on each hand and then pass them.

• Passing – make it a game. Get a plate spinning and pass to someone else with a stick. More people? Add more plates!

• Multi-plate spinning - Try to see how many plates you can spin simultaneously. This is a classic show stopper. First, you’ll need to get one going on each hand, then start trying to hold more and more plates in the other hand.