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Having students engage in engineering projects is always good. What makes it better is to question students about materials used and why. Or have students create a mousetrap car tips list ... See More

Having students engage in engineering projects is always good. What makes it better is to question students about materials used and why. Or have students create a mousetrap car tips list (things like, how does the length of the arm affect the car). Asking students questions to make them think through their work makes project science better science.

Getting More Mileage Out of Mousetrap Cars

You will like this article about mousetrap cars, especially if you have never tried them before in your curriculum. Students not only investigate the physics behind the car construction and ... See More

You will like this article about mousetrap cars, especially if you have never tried them before in your curriculum. Students not only investigate the physics behind the car construction and performance-but the selling point of this article is the way it puts the implementation of the concept together. There are four stages in it's development: assembly & materials, the race, data collection, and the final assignment involves a to-scale diagram of the car and a reflective essay. I like that it does not stop with just the race. Included in this article are: 1) Building and Racing Rules, 2) Laboratory Assignment and Group Summary worksheet, 3) Tips with diagrams for building a better mousetrap car, and 4) examples. Everything you would need to start with is found in this article, and even if you have used mousetrap cars before in your curriculum-there might be something to might like to add.