中兴

中 = 丨 + 口 : Mnemonic symbol: a dart board, because you always try to hit the center.

Julian Giant Squid (zhu-) is throwing dinosaur bones (丨) as darts on a dart board in front of the engine ((e)ng1). To make it a bit more difficult he's throwing mandarins (口) into the air as well and skewers them up right in the center (中 is a mandarin skewered on a dinosaur bone) in mid flight with the dinosaur bones. He's still able to consistently hit the center (中) of the dart board.

兴 = 小 + 一 + 八 : I would say this one looks definitely like a hedgehog, but since there's already a character for hedgehog, let's call this one a sea star.

兴 = 小 + 一 + 八 : Marie Curie found a sea star attached to a big eight ball in the engine's bathroom. As she is a curious and interested scientist, she wants to investigate the sea star, so she pokes it with a flute and tries to tickle it with a daisy.