Have you ever been curious about how the toys you had when you were little were put together and or how they worked the way they did?
Well, next time you acquire a toy take it apart and maybe add something new to it.
In this activity, I went and bought a small toy truck from HEB.I thought it was one of the pull-back and release trucks when I bought it but it turned out to be just a normal toy truck (to my disappointment), I was hoping to understand the mechanics of the pull-back toys. This didn't stop me however from bringing it to class anyway. After the introduction to class was over and all the materials that were laid out for us to use where explained we got to work.
The Process:
Day 1-
I found a tiny screw driver to open up the bottom of the truck and began unscrewing the two screws.
As soon as the screws were free I took them out and laid them on the table. Then I take off the truck apart and examine all of the pieces that made up this mass produced toy.
It had the body which was the heaviest, the two silver pieces that were the front and back bumper. There were two black pieces that were the chairs and steering wheel. And the part I chose to work with,the wheels and bottom part of the truck.
From the start I knew I wanted to make the car move by itself, since it can't move with out a human hand. So I ventured over to the material section and picked out the gray motor and also grabbed a battery pack. The other motors would have been too big for the truck. I went back to my desk and began planning out where I would set the motor on the "skeleton" of the truck. I tried the front, middle but ended up finding that it balanced well on the back part between the tires.
After finding the perfect placement, I went into the other room to grab tape( first it was plain scotch tape but it didn't hold the motor well, so I changed to the aluminum duct tape), grabbed a normal sized Popsicle stick and then went back to my seat.
I attached the motor with the stronger aluminum tape and then proceeded to break the Popsicle stick in half in order for it to be small enough to fit the truck. I wrapped tap around the shortened halves and created a propeller like object. I then attached this to the white end of the motor that conducts the movement. I plug the battery pack in and do the first test run.
The propeller began to spin chaotically but it wasn't enough to move the object itself.
by this time in my exploration class was about to end so I took everything apart and rebuilt the truck to its original self.
Day 2-
I had been thinking a lot about how to get this thing to move. And I finally thought... Hey? what if it needed a bigger propeller?... so the next class day I grabbed a bigger Popsicle stick and repeated all the steps before.
I was extremely excited when the motor started and the whole object began to move ever so slightly.
I sat it on the floor, thinking it needed more space and let it go.
The piece began to move in a circle around the battery pack.
I had successfully created something that moved.
This was a very interesting MI and it was very rewarding when you actually accomplished what you set out for.
This would benefit future students greatly by allowing their curiosity to take over and creating something new out of a plain ole manufactured toy.
