9+
1+
60 min
Advanced
Tube Motor
A sturdy cardboard tube gives this motor its body, and a thick rubber strip powers it to roll along.
Required material
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Sturdy cardboard (like an old box)
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Strong scissors
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Pencil
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Hole punch
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Thick cardboard tube (like a poster tube)
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A piece of bicycle inner tube
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Plastic bottle cap
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2 Lollipop sticks
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Sticky tape
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Drill and clamp
Adult supervision for this activity is recommended
Instructions
Get everything you need together.
Put your tube onto a piece of card, and draw around it.
Cut out the cardboard disc.
Put a folded tissue, a bit of cloth or some putty under the circle for support, then work the pencil through to make a hole in the middle.
Put a lollipop stick across the bottom of the tube, and mark the width with a pen (at the outer edges).
Trim the stick down to the width of the tube.
On either side of the tube, draw a small rectangular slot the width of the lollipop stick.
Cut out the slots, but don't fit the trimmed lollipop stick in yet.
Clamp the bottle cap securely, and ask an adult to drill a hole through the middle.
Cut the inner tube into a rubber strip about 2cm wide, and the same length as the tube.
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 cap and the disc.
Bring all your pieces together with sticky tape.
Put the bottle cap upside down on the disc, so the holes in each are lined up. From the cardboard disc side, push through one end of the rubber strip.
Push your other lollipop stick through the hole in the strip.
Drop the rest of the strip through the cardboard tube.
Pull it through to the other end.
Push the trimmed lollipop stick through the whole in the band.
Now fit the stick into the slots you made earlier.
Fix the stick in place with tape or glue.
Tape or glue the cardboard disc to the other end of the tube. If you're using glue, let the whole thing dry fully.
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 tube will scoot away! Rocket ship? Car? Speedboat? That's up to you.
Did you know?
Have you ever called a child for dinner and found they're totally engrossed in building blocks or working out a puzzle? That's the power of play! When they're actively engaged with what they're doing, children learn how to stay focused.