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Sarah of St. Louis, MO
Vrrroom! Make a racing car out of an old coffee can.
- coffee can and two coffee can lids
- can opener
- rubber bands
- masking tape
- bead
- pencil
- paper clip
- tape
- unsharpened pencil
- liquid soap
- Cut off the bottom of an empty coffee can with a can opener. Have an adult help you to do this because the edge can be sharp.
- Use scissors to punch a hole in the center of both coffee can lids. Make sure the hole is large enough for a rubber band to pass through easily.
- Push one end of a rubber band through one of the holes, and hook it around a paper clip on the outside of the lid. Tape the paper clip in place over the hole so that the rubber band cannot pull through the hole. Place the lid with the rubber band on the can.
- Reach into the can and grab the rubber band, but be careful of the edges of the can.
- Slide the free end of the rubber band through the hole in the other lid, from the inside. Slip the end of the rubber band through a bead so that the bead is on the outside of the lid.
- Slide a pencil through the part of the rubber band that is on the far side of the bead from the can, so that the pencil stops the rubber band from pulling back through the bead and the lid.
- Adjust the position of the pencil so that the end of it extends past the edge of the can. If it is too short, get a longer pencil.
- Put the liquid soap around the edges of the can so that it cuts down the rubbing and slides better.
- Wind up the pencil until it comes back to you freely and put the can on the floor. When you let go, off goes the car.
Now it's time for you to experiment. Think of a question you want answered. Like, how can you make it go faster. Will it go faster if you use different sized cans? What about putting some weight on the inside of the coffee can? Make a prediction. Then, change one thing-that's the variable-and test it out. When you're done, send your reports to our special feedback area. Be sure to tell us what you thought was going to happen and what actually did happen. Each week we'll publish a whole bunch.
Matthew, age 10 of Chicago, IL wrote:
it did work. it rolled like a car.
Tavis, age 14 of Ashburn, GA wrote:
My can worked only on slick surfaces but it was tight.
Ashley, age 12 of Geneva, FL wrote:
mine didn't work! I think it was because I used a dog food can and two plastic drink lids, that were to big for it so I used tape. don't try with the stuff I used!
Sophia, age 9 wrote:
it worked it was cool.
Esmeralda, age 7 of NJ wrote:
I got a can and I got stuff to build a can car and it was awsome.
Ennovy, age 14 of Sacramento, CA wrote:
I used a toilet paper tube and CD's for my car. It went very far and was very fast. I recommend the toilet-paper-tube-and-CDs method for a fast and effective car.
Asiayanna, age 16 of Mexico wrote:
When I first did it it was a little hard, but when I kept going with my partener we got it.
Megan, age 15 of Mason, OH wrote:
instead of a coffee can I used a soda can, and I figured out that to release tension, or to make it go faster, I used 2 beads instead of one, also the reason why it went in a circle is because of the eraser part so use the non-eraser side.
Jamya, age 8 of Gary, IN wrote:
it rolled and rolled. it was amazing stuff
Robert, age 13 of Omaha, NE wrote:
It worked perfutly! I used it for a school project! I recomend this for everyone beause it is so easy!
Maya, age 14 of Boston, MA wrote:
It exploded into 10 small pieces. I made it electric.
Valerie, age 11 of Brooklyn wrote:
this is the coolest experement in the WORLD!!! I recomend this project to anyone who needs one!
Taylor, age 14 of Mason, OH wrote:
it didnt work. I dont know if I did something wrong or not. but it isnt working.
Tiffani of Mason, OH wrote:
my car spinneded in a circle and then it like did a little flippy thing. it was weird. and I didn't like it. but whatever it probably is the best thing that I will do in physical science...
Shaniqua, age 15 of Mason, OH wrote:
alrighty so, I made it. then it did a little spiny thingy when I let go of it. it really made me mad. JEE. but it was the best thing we did in physical science.
Mitchell, age 14 of Mason, OH wrote:
The car works O. K. It doesnt go as fast as I would like it to but atleast it works.
BB, age 14 of Mason, OH wrote:
It was awesome and it went pretty far
Alice, age 14 of Mason, OH wrote:
I used the regular pencil to do it first and it moved a little, and it took really long to wind the thing up, I shortened the pencil and made it smaller than the lid and it went so much farther, went completely across my kitchen floor, but I didn't use a coffee can I did this the same reason as Kale for the my physical science class.
Janice, age 14 of Singapore wrote:
it was fantastic! I couldn't get it at first but when I read it thouroughly, I got it! thanks for the help!
Marisa, age 10 of Calgary, AB wrote:
Edgemont Schools Gr. 4 classes all made a CAN CAR! Some of are cars went for a long time, but some just sat there. We had a normal race then we had a top 5 race.
Alex, age 11 of Canada, AB wrote:
at first when I tryed it did not work but second time it worked thanks for showing me how to do it was really nice thanks!!
Asia, age 12 of Rocky Mount wrote:
it worked great, it was so cool!!
Ashley of Honolulu, HI wrote:
AT first it didn't work but I'm determined to keep trying!
Zen, age 13 of San Jose, CA wrote:
mines went really far
Judy-Lynn, age 14 of Ottawa, ON wrote:
It WORKED! I was surprised. I'm glad my teacher gave us this project it was awesome... make sure to put the rubber band in right. (Don't cut it)
Alexndra of Newark, NJ wrote:
this project was so much fun and it went bump bump bump
Amanda, age 13 of Demotte wrote:
At first, i didnt do it right. But once i figured out the problem, my can car was ready to go!
Samantha, age 13 of Wheatfield wrote:
the first time I tried this can car project, it didnt move at all. but then I found something wrong. I didnt put the rubber band in right. so once I got in in right, it rolled forever. so making this can car is so awesome.
Hannah of Victoria, BC wrote:
I took a can from the recycle, s then took some wheels from and old car toy then put some stickers and thats all
Kale, age 15 of Mason, OH wrote:
Mine didn't work at all. I tried all sorts of things to make it move, but it just sat there on the floor. Oh well. It was probably the best thing we did in Physical Science...
Clover, age 13 of Los Angeles, CA wrote:
I used it for my newton's scooter project (we were learning about the 3 laws of motion) and then everyone thinks we are going to win, because tommorrow we are having a race. It goes about 30 meters, and it only needed to go 1 meter, which was awesome!
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