9+
1+
60 min
Advanced
Bottle Motor
A motor with no electricity! Just twist up the rubber band that runs through the middle then let go to see your model come alive.
Required material
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Scissors
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Plastic drinks bottle with cap
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Drill
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Hole punch
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Marker pen
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2 Lollipop sticks
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A piece of bicycle inner tube
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String
Adult supervision for this activity is recommended
Instructions
Get everything you need together.
Ask an adult to drill a hole in the middle of the bottom of the bottle.
And other hole through the middle of the bottle cap.
Cut the inner tube into a rubber strip about 2cm wide, and a little bit longer than the bottle.
Punch a hole at each end.
Trim off the corners at each end to make it easier to fit the band through the holes in the bottle and cap.
It'll look something like this.
Tie string to one end of your rubber strip.
Cut one of your lollipop sticks down so that it's a little narrower than the bottle. If it's tricky to do that with your scissors, ask a grown up for help.
Push it through the other end of your rubber strip.
Feed the string through the hole in the bottom of the bottle.
Then pull the string and rubber strip through the bottle until the lollipop stick is pressed to the bottom.
Turn the cap upside down, and feed the string through it.
It'll look like this when the cap is on top of the bottle.
Make sure the top of the rubber strip also comes through the cap. Then feed your second lollipop stick through the hole where the string is.
You can cut the string away.
Now you're ready to go! Wind up the rubber strip by turning the stick at the cap end. When you let it go, the bottle will scoot away! Rocket ship? Car? Speedboat? That's up to you.
Did you know?
When children are busy building with blocks, working out puzzles and fitting different kinds of materials, shapes and sizes together, they're actually learning spatial skills. When an adult joins in, it supercharges the fun and the learning.