We had so much building our own version with this rubber band car STEM activity.    

This activity uses recyclables and materials that are easy to find.  It is sure to become one of your favorite STEM activities for kids.  

This rubber band STEM is perfect for learning about potential energy.   

Kids will also enjoy learning about potential energy by making this homemade rubber band gun or a craft stick catapult. 

Rubber Band Car STEM Activity 

Affiliate links have been used below.  See my full disclosure for more details. 

Materials Needed:

• Empty Paper Towel Tube
• 4 Unwanted CDs
• Two 6-Inch Craft Dowel Rods (or a wood skewer cut in half)
• Hole Puncher
• Paper Clip
• Variety of Rubber Bands
• Masking Tape
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Colorful Duct Tape, Markers, Stickers (optional)

 You can find this project and over 50 more fun engineering activities in my new book,  Awesome Engineering Activities for Kids.  

How to Make a Rubber Band Car 

Start by using your ruler and pencil to draw a straight line from one end of the paper towel tube to the opposite end.  This will help make your wheels straight and parallel with each other.

Slide your hole puncher through one end of the paper towel tube as far as it will go and punch a hole on  the line you drew.  Then do this on the opposite side of the cardboard tube.  

Use your ruler and pencil to draw another straight line on the opposite side of your tube and once again use the hole puncher to punch holes at each end of the tube.

Once the holes are made, slide your dowel rods through the holes. 

Check and make sure the dowel rods are parallel with one another.  Your car won’t work if  one axle sticks up while the other is resting on the floor.   

If necessary, you can rotate the tube and make new holes.  

Decorate your race car using colorful duct tape, markers, or stickers.  Just be sure you don’t cover up the holes the axles go through! 

Once your decorating is finished, insert your dowel rods back through the holes.  

You will be using old CDs as your rubber band car’s wheels.  To keep the CDs from slipping off the dowel rod, wrap masking tape around both ends of the dowel rods about one inch from the ends. You will need 2-3 feet of tape for each one, depending on how tightly and smoothly you wrap the tape.  

When you are finished push the CD over the tape.   It should be snug.   If it is wobbly, remove the CD and wrap a bit more tape around the dowel rod and try again.

Now it’s time to make your “engine.” 

Make a chain with 5 rubber bands. Try to use all the same size rubber bands. (We used rubber bands that were approximately 2 inches long.)

Attach a paper clip to the end of the chain.

Carefully wrap the paper clip end of your rubber band chain around the back axle of your car, inside the cardboard tube.  Thread the paper clip through the last rubber band of the chain and pull, making a loop to secure the chain around your axle.

You may need to add a piece of tape to help hold the rubber band tight against the axle.

Now drop the paper clip end back through the tube so the rubber band chain is hanging inside the tube.

If the chain hangs outside the cardboard tube more than an inch, you will need to remove one of the rubber bands and then reattach the paper clip.

Secure the paper clip to the cardboard tube, making sure no rubber bands are rubbing the front axle.

To wind the car’s engine, hold onto your back axle (the one the rubber band chain is connected to) and rotate the axle to wind the rubber bands around it. (If they don’t wind around the axle, try turning it the opposite way.)    We used a similar method in our rubber band boat. 

While still holding the axle, set your car on a flat surface. 

Let go and watch it zoom forward! 

This project may take some tinkering to make it work properly.  That’s part of engineering:  seeing what works and what doesn’t and then making necessary changes. 

If your wheels are wobbly, the car won’t go as far.   Try wrapping more tape around the axles to make the wheels steadier.

If the wheels turn but your car doesn’t move, there may not be enough friction between the wheels and the ground.  Try the car on a different surface.

Extension Activities for this STEM Activity

• What happens if you change the size of the rubber bands you use?   Try using thicker rubber bands.  Or try using rubber bands that are shorter.  Does the size of the rubber bands affect how the car operates?
• What happens if you take off a rubber band or if you add one to the chain?
• Try this project with a friend or family member and race your cars. Whose car goes the farthest?  Can you figure out why?

Why the Rubber Band Car Works

When you twist the rubber band around the axle, you give it potential energy.  The more you twist it, the more potential energy it has.

When you let go the rubber band goes back to its original position, and the potential energy is turned into kinetic energy, causing the back axle to spin. When the axle turns, the wheels attached to it also move, and the car goes forward.  

If you like this Rubber Band Car STEM Activity, you’ll also like:

• How to Make a Coffee Filter Parachutte
• Egg Drop STEM
• Build a Solar Water Still 

The post Make a Rubber Band Race Car! first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Kids of all ages love STEM activities.  They tend to be very hands-on, allowing kids to be creative and have fun, all while learning.

Even preschoolers can get in on the fun when it comes to STEM. 

Your child will have fun making their very own plastic egg submarine.

Affiliate links have been used below.  See my full disclosure here. 

 Plastic egg activities like this one are lots of fun.

Making these egg submarines with plastic Easter eggs was a huge hit with my preschooler.   

Not only did he have fun experimenting and playing with water, but it was a great activity for the letter “S” in our preschool vehicle activities for the alphabet.

This activity was inspired by this Sink the Easter Egg activity.

Plastic Egg Submarine

Materials Needed:

• Plastic Eggs
• Pom poms, beads, and other small items that fit in the eggs
• Coins
• Clear Tape (optional)
• Game Dice (1-2)

The object of this activity is to figure out how to make your plastic egg sink like a submarine.  (In the fall try our pumpkin sink or float activity.)

I had a collection of beads, pom-poms, pennies and quarters on hand to use to help sink our plastic egg submarines.

We used 4 eggs and rolled a game die to see how many of each object would go into each egg.

Then I asked the preschooler to guess whether or not the submarine would sink or float, and we set each egg in the water.  (If your eggs have holes in the ends, you will want to use a bit of clear tape to cover them.)

We soon discovered that the pom-pom egg floated at the very top of the water.

The one with a few beads was also at the top.

The submarines with pennies and quarters sank part way.

How to Make Plastic Easter Eggs Sink

We tried completely filling one egg with the pom-poms, one with beads, one with pennies, and one with quarters.

Before placing our submarines into the water this time, we put a few of each item (pom-pom, quarter, etc.) into the water.  The preschooler noticed that the pom-pom and some of the beads floated, while the coins sank right away.

We talked briefly about why that may be.

Then we tried our newly filled eggs.

The preschooler was very happy to see the penny and quarter-filled egg submarines sank to the bottom.

When he realized the bead and pom-pom ones were still not sinking, we talked about how the plastic eggs still had air in them, helping them float.

Then we tried filling those spaces with water — success!  The plastic egg subs all sank.  

The preschooler continued filling eggs, watching them sink or float while I prepared lunch.  He asked to continue playing after lunch, too.

This plastic egg submarine STEM activity is a simple sink and float science activity that your preschooler will love.  

You may also want to try some of these other preschool STEM activities.  

Other STEM activities your child will love:

• Design a Boat That Floats
• Build a Rubber Band Boat
• Cardboard Tube Marble Run
• DIY Geoboard 

Originally published April 22, 2014.

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It’s no wonder there are so many fun balloon science experiments for kids to try.  

This CD hovercraft STEM activity takes just 10 minutes to do.  It’s perfect for rainy days or as an after school activity.

No matter what age your child is, it will quickly become one of your favorite STEM activities for kids.

Hovercrafts are a truly unique vehicle. Unlike a car that uses wheels, or a boat that floats on water, hovercrafts actually float on a cushion of air.

Not only that, but they are amphibious, meaning they can travel over both land and water.  Isn’t that cool?

If you are looking for quick and simple STEM activities,  you may also want to try this classic paper cup phone or make a coffee filter parachute. 

CD Hovercraft STEM

Materials Needed:

• Old, Unwanted CD
• Drinking Spout from a Water Bottle
• Balloon
• Duct Tape (or hot glue gun)
• Stickers or Permanent Markers (optional)

We love to keep these STEM supplies on hand for impromptu activities. 

To make a hovercraft, line up the base of the drinking spout so it covers the hole in the CD.

Use duct tape to secure the drinking spout.  Make sure you completely seal around the spout, leaving no space for air to leak.

Alternatively, you can use a hot glue gun to adhere the spout to the CD.   Your child may even choose to decorate the CD with stickers or permanent markers if  they feel extra creative.

Once the water bottle spout is attached to the CD, blow up your balloon and pinch the neck to keep the air from escaping.

Keeping the balloon pinched, stretch the mouth of the balloon over the top of the drinking spout.  This step is easier for kids if they have a friend help.

With your fingers still pinching the balloon closed, place the balloon hovercraft on a hard, flat surface, such as a table or floor.

Make sure the drinking spout is open.  Then let go of the balloon.

Your hovercraft should move, floating just above the surface.

For more balloon STEM ideas, check out our balloon boat. 

How a CD and Balloon Hovercraft Works

When you release the air from the balloon, it gets trapped beneath the CD.

The trapped air reduces the friction between the floor and the CD.

As the air continues to leave the balloon, the air current causes the hovercraft to glide across the floor’s surface.

This simple STEM activity is a fun example of Newton’s First Law of Motion:  an object at rest will stay at rest unless acted upon by an external force.    In this case, the CD stays at rest until the force of the air escaping the balloon causes it to move.

Extensions for Hovercraft STEM Activity

Once your child has made the hovercraft glide across the floor a few times, challenge them to try these activities to take the learning further.

• Use a stopwatch or timer to see how long your hovercraft stays afloat.  Time it several times to find the average length of time.
• What happens if you only blow the balloon up part way?   What if you use a larger balloon?
• Try making a hovercraft with a paper plate.  How does it compare to the hover craft made with a CD?

This CD hovercraft STEM is fun and super easy to do.  It’s a perfect balloon experiment to do after school or on a rainy day.

You can find this and 50 other engineering projects in my new book, (affiliate link) Awesome Engineering Activities for Kids.

You may also enjoy:

• Inflate a Balloon with Science 
• Classic Egg Drop STEM Challenge 
• Rubber Band Car
• Educational Gifts Kids Love

The post Super Simple CD Hovercraft STEM first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

It’s time to motor on to letter “M” in our vehicle alphabet series!  “M” Is for monster truck!

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of monster trucks?

They’re BIG!

That’s why I couldn’t resist making an over-sized activity sheet for our monster truck day.

Learning Activities with Trucks

I used a large sheet of brown packing paper we had from one of the packages that came in the mail.

At the top I wrote “Monster Truck.”  Then I added 2 preschool learning activities to it.

My preschooler had fun driving monster trucks on the letters at the top.

For one of the activities I drew some large circles and wrote numbers on each of them.

The preschooler counted out the correct number of monster trucks to get stuck in each of the “mud” circles.

For the second activity on the monster truck learning activities sheet I had written the colors: red, blue, and green.

The preschooler matched his monster trucks up to the correct colors on the paper.  

We practiced writing the letter “M” on our dry-erase board, and then my number-loving preschooler decided to count all of his monster trucks!

He and his big sister had fun lining them up and using our homemade number cards to count them.

It was good practice for them both, having to sort through the number cards and determine what the number 21 looked like verses a 23.  (He has quite a few monster trucks!)

Monster Truck Craft

Then it was time for a monster truck craft.

We hit the recycling bin and the kids had fun creating their own monster truck rally courses.

Cardboard tubes, secured to the kitchen floor with tape, made fun “trees” to roll over.

We had cardboard ramps, tunnels, and even a paper plate hoop with construction paper “flames” for the trucks to encounter. 

It was a fun monster truck STEM activity that would be perfect for kids of all ages.

We’ve been having fun with our preschool learning activities with vehicles.  These monster truck activities have been some of our favorites.

Get more kids learning activities like this delivered to your email by subscribing to our newsletter. 

• Painting with Trucks
• Learning Activities with Toy Cars
• Alphabet Activities for Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
• Measuring Volume: Hands-On Activity 

Originally posted January 6, 2014.  

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I am always looking for fun ways to get the kids up and moving and practicing reading skills.  You can make sight word practice at home fun with this drive to the sight word game.

Setting up for the game is super easy.

I used sidewalk chalk to write a variety of CVC words (consonant – vowel -consonant) on the driveway.  (You can also use sight words or vocabulary words; modify it to meet your child’s needs.)

Then I grabbed the remote control trucks and we were ready to play.

Once he saw the set up, my truck-loving son couldn’t wait to play!

I called out words one at a time and he had fun using the remote control truck to drive over them.

Not only was he practicing reading skills by having to sound out those CVC words, he was also using gross-motor skills and some fine-motor skills, too, as he worked the controls on the trucks.

Plus, anytime I can get them outside to learn is a huge plus!

Want to do this with an older child and use vocabulary words?

Tell them the definition and having them find the correct word.

You could also do it with a foreign language, giving them the English word and having them drive over the correct word in the language they are studying.

Looking for more fun ideas for sight word practice at home?

Check out some of my previous posts:

• Sight Word Pop
• Read to the Top
• Bottle Cap Word Sort
• Simon Says (with a Reading Twist)
• Sight Word Bang! 

The post Drive to the Sight Word first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

We finally made it to the end of our vehicle alphabet series, with Z for Zeppelin!

We started off our letter Z activities with this Zeppelin Coloring Page.

They both enjoyed decorating their very own zeppelins, just the way they wanted.  While they colored they had lots of questions about zeppelins!

My vehicle-enthusiast reminded us that zeppelins are a type of dirigible, or lighter than air aircraft.  (Yep, he has actually known what a dirigible was since he was 3, thanks to his LeapFrog LeapReader Book: Let’s Explore Things That Go!)

I explained that zeppelins are made with metal, unlike the more commonly seen blimp.  Of course, then we had to go look at pictures on Mommy’s computer!

After a while we moved on to practice writing the letter Z.

We have been in a shaving cream mood lately.  This time we used it to write zig-zag letter Z’s over and over.

Shaving cream is great for letter and spelling word practice.  You can have the child use their finger tip to write the letter, or use the end of a pencil or a paintbrush like we did!

Finally, we took our zeppelin pictures and flew them around to search for letters!

I taped lower-case letters around the kitchen and living room ahead of time.

Sometimes I have them just hunt for the right letter.

This time around I asked them to hunt for letters based on the sounds they make.

They zoomed off in search of the letter that made the “mmm” sound and tried to find it before the puppy, who was also trying to tear all the letters down.  (Hence, no pics this time around!)

It was a great refresher for both the 5 and 6 year-old, a perfect activity before school starts!

Both my kids have some fun ideas to continue our vehicle alphabet fun.  I’m looking forward to sharing them here with you!

Until then, you may want to check out my vehicle pinterest board, which is full of vehicle crafts, snacks, and more!

The post Letter Z Activities first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.