We tested the last of our wind powered cars today. Some groups needed more time to make slight modifications to their sail or car structure. As well as engineering skills being developed here, the pupils were working with a partner to share ideas, make decisions and persevere with the task when it didn’t always work first time. What a lot of learning going on!
Some cars didn’t get finished in time, but those pupils will still get the chance to test their sail making abilities, using a ready made toy car.
As each car was tested. it was lovely to hear the positive feedback given to each group, along with some helpful tips on how to improve on each design. Some common themes were:
- Getting the right shape and size of the sail
- Can the wheels turn?
- Is anything on the bottom of the car creating too much friction? We realised that the car would need even more wind energy to help it to move.
- How the sail was held up – was it secure enough?
With Mrs Smith, the class have been working on their measuring skills and these skills were put into good use for this task! There were lots of helpful pupils who were keen to read how far each car had travelled. Very accurate measuring from all!
All of the cars moved when wind energy was provided, even if just a little bit. However, the most successful wind powered car travelled a massive 1m 80cm!
Even when things didn’t go to plan, it didn’t matter! We had fun watching the results and learning from the process. This car was even pushed over by the wind!
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