Our kids love little science experiments. Most recently, we built an air pressure propelled matchbox car. It was super simple to build and our seven year old son knew exactly how to build it.
First, I grabbed a few spare parts that we had around the house … A matchbox car, a balloon, a couple of straws and three rubber bands. We had several types of straws and we ended up going with a bendy straw so we could angle the “motor” properly. The cool moment for me was when I put the items randomly on the floor and our seven year knew exactly what and how we were going to make it. He gave explicit instructions and then explained how air pressure moves from high to low areas in order to reach equilibrium and that the net result would be that the wind from the balloon would push the car across the floor.
The science isn’t difficult at all and neither is the construction. Here it is in action… Post a link to yours if you make one too!!
- Dana
