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How to Build a Moustrap Car

Building a moving car out of a wooden mousetrap teaches many valuable lessons. The project requires few supplies available at most hardware or hobby stores and teaches the physics of force and motion. Assembling the car teaches problem solving in a team environment while racing the finished car is a lesson in sportsmanship, whether you win or lose. Allow the teams to experiment with different-size wheels or mousetraps to learn which components create the fastest mousetrap car.

Things You'll Need

Wooden mousetrap
Drill with bits
4 eyehole screws slightly larger than the wheel axle
4 wheels with 2 axle rods
4 rubber bands
String
4 small rubber washers

Instructions

- 1
  Remove the wire hook that snaps over the snap jaw and the bait prongs on the wooden mousetrap. Discard these items, as they are not part of the car design.
- 2
  Drill a small starter hole for the eye hooks in the corner of each short end of the mousetrap. Screw an eye hook into each corner.
- 3
  Install an axle that is 4 mm in diameter and 15 mm longer than the short side of the mousetrap. Slide an axle though the eye hooks on each end of the mousetrap and secure in place with a rubber washer on each end. Attach a 75 mm diameter wheel to the end of each axle rod.
- 4
  Cut a 10-inch piece of string and tie it to the middle of the snap bar. Secure the knot with a drop of glue. Wrap the opposite end of the string around the rear axle rod in the opposite direction of the way you want the car to roll.
- 5
  Propel the mousetrap car forward by pulling the snap bar tight. Wrap any string slack around the back axle rode while holding the snap bar. Set the car on the floor and release the snap bar making sure your fingers are out of the way.

Toy Vehicles