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How to Make a Train With Magnets

A train does not need wheels to travel the tracks of a child's imagination. Make a cardboard train and cargo car that connect to each other using magnets. Supplies from a hardware store and from around the house will be used. You will need some common household tools too.

Things You'll Need

Large, square cardboard boxes
Magic markers
Ruler
Cardboard tube, 1 foot long, 2-inch diameter
Duct tape
Cotton padding
Bonding glue
2 neodymium magnets

Instructions

- 1
  Stand one of the two boxes on the ground. Push in the flaps at the top; you may need to tape them down. Draw a wheel at each end of both sides of the box with a magic marker. Draw a horizontal line between the two wheels with the marker. Stand the second box on the ground and repeat the entire procedure.
- 2
  Write "Cargo" on one side of the box with the black magic marker. Write your child's name followed by the word "Railroad" on the other side with colored magic markers. Repeat this procedure on one side of the other box. Write "Engine" on the other side of the box with the black magic marker.
- 3
  Place an end of the tube against the inside front end of the "Engine" box. Tape the tube where it meets the box with strips of duct tape. Fluff some cotton padding. Place the cotton padding into the top of the tube. Pull some of the padding out of the top of the tube so that it appears to be "smoke" from the train.
- 4
  Apply bonding glue to one side of one of the two magnets. Place the magnet, glue side facing away from you, against the front end of the "Cargo" box near its center. Hold the magnet against the box for a minute. Repeat this procedure with the other magnet and the back end of the "Engine" box near its center. Let the glue set overnight.
- 5
  Place the two ends of the two boxes together to engage the magnets. Have your child sit in the "Engine" and tell him to "toot" the whistle.

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