Make a Rubber Powered Car by STEM kit - Step by Step instructions

Make a Rubber Powered Car by STEM kit - Step by Step instructions

The hands-on activity entitled as rubber powered car enables the students to learn about energy, its types and its conversion from one form to another form. It also helps them to understand about basic vehicle design, its working and how elastic potential energy can be used to move a car. Step by step manual is provided to make their own vehicles by using Pakistan Science Club specially designed STEM kit which always been an excited and worth learning experience for them.

Age Levels: 8 – 12

Time:  45 minutes

Learning  Outcomes

As a result of this activity, students will:

• Construct a rubber band car, comprehend its working and basic mechanism of vehicle designing.
• Measure distance, calculate speed and check the variation with number of turns in the rubber band.
• Communicate their design process and results.
• Understand fundamentals of energy and its conversion in different forms.
• Develop concept of potential and kinetic energy, the significance of their conversion and application in daily life.

Material required to make Rubber Powered Car

Student will only need PSC kit to make this car, the list of parts too make it is as following.

Tools

• A small screw driver

Steps of construction

Follow the simple step by step construction to assemble the car.

STEM kit

Students can make multiple projects by using this inexpensive STEM kit which is available at sciencestore.pk

Additional teacher and student resources:

How to build a rubber-band car from cardboard and old CDs, from PBS Design Squad.

How to build a rubber-band car, courtesy of malasiaminilover.com.  Step-by-step instructions with illustrations.

Step-by-step instructions for making a rubber-band-powered car (illustration) that uses two CDs for wheels, student handout, and illustrated leader notes for PBS Design Squad Nation’s Rubber-Band Car Challenge. (For 9- to 12-year-olds.) Watch a demo.

Popular Mechanics article detailing how Mythbusters discovered electric go karts are faster than gas-powered models.