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From Here to There

Are you ready for an engineering challenge?

How would you design and build a structure that can transfer a small ball between two points bridging a 6-foot gap?

There are challenges to this task: you can use less but not more of the suggested materials; the ball cannot be thrown; and once the ball is in motion, the set-up and the ball cannot be touched.

You will need:

  • Small balls of various mass and size
    (marbles, Styrofoam balls, etc.)
  • 5 sheets of paper
  • 5 paper clips
  • 5 rubber bands
  • 10 feet of string or yarn
  • 20 inches of tape (masking or painter's tape is best)
  • 2 pieces of furniture separated by a 6-foot distance
  • Scissors

Things to Explore

How many different structural set-ups can you think of? How does your engineering strategy change if the two points are not level with each other? How does the size or mass of the ball affect how the ball travels between the two points? Can you increase the distance the ball travels using the limited materials?

woodenball











(A "Try This at Home" engineering challenge using string paper clips, move small balls from Explora's newsletter, Explorations, Spring 2009)


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Put a Spin on it!

How long or fast can you make a top spin?

You will need:

  • A variety of flat disks like a circle cut from a cereal box, cardboard, plastic yogurt lid or paper plate;
  • A variety of spindle-like objects like a pencil, marker, dowel or wooden skewer;
  • Scissors, nail or compass to poke holes;
  • Pennies and paper clips;
  • Rubber bands and tape;
  • Coloring markers/pencils (optional)

Things to Explore

What happens if you shift the balance of the disk by taping pennies or adding paper clips to different areas of the disk? Does changing the spindle length above or below the disk affect the spin? What about the shape of the spindle’s point? What happens to the speed or longevity of the spin if you change disk size or disk shape? You can also try coloring two or more sections on the top of your disk to see if rotation changes the colors!

How did it go?
Let us know on Facebook!

To create the top's disk, make a small hole in the center of a disk. You can then push a pencil or another spindle-like object partway through this hole for a snug fit. If the hole is too big, wrap rubber bands around the spindle or reinforce it with tape so the disk stays on the spindle. Now take it for a spin!

A "Try This at Home" build-your-own-spinning-tops project from Explora's newsletter, Explorations, Spring 2010

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