Kath AshleyHere at MOTAT for a limited time throughout the April school holidays, we’ve manufactured some epic toy-car launchers for you to use onsite!
Watch the video below to see how we used a laser-cutter to make ours, then scroll down to see how you can make a simple car launcher at home!
Activity Instructions
Prep Time: 5+ minutes
Skill Level: Easy
You Will Need:
- Rubber bands
- Tape [duct tape or painter’s tape works best!]
- A pencil
- A toy car [best if it is a tall one – no lowered street-racers here!]
Step 1: Tape your pencil down onto a smooth surface as shown in the picture- a smooth floor or long table works well!
Step 2: Attach your rubber band onto the front of your toy car- make sure to loop or tie it on, as tape isn’t strong enough to hold the rubber band in place! We found looping it around the front tire axel made it secure.
Step 3: Put the rubber band loosely on the top of the pencil or straw, and pull back the car- then let it go! It should launch off under rubber band power.
Did yours work? Could you make another and have a race? Is there a way to improve the design? Share your car launcher with us on social media using the hashtag #motatfun, then come on down to MOTAT and use our launchers too!
Did you catch a sneak peak of MOTAT’s Accelerate exhibit at the end there? Come on down and see it’s brand new look this holidays!
