This week for our DT project we built balloon powered cars.
The boys built their cars using card, thin cardboard, foam or old packaging. For the axles they used spools or the outer casing from felt tip pens. They then taped a balloon around a straw with Duck tape which they then attached to their cars.
We quickly discovered that the straw needed to be as short as possible in order for the balloon to produce enough power to move the car at all and then after a few more trials the decision was that slightly wider tubing made the cars move the best.
Conclusion: The cars that traveled the best had a light frame, wide and short tubes attached to the balloons and free moving axles made from felt tip casings
We hope to add a video of the cars racing as soon as possible.
Here is a video of the cars being built. The music is Drive My Car by The Beatles.
Have you ever made balloon powered cars? How far did yours travel?
This has also been posted on our class blog Adventures in Oak Class
Adventures in Learning 