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DIY Rubber Band Car & Word Search

Zoom, zoom! Team GCM member, Chris, is going to show you how to make your own rubber band car using materials from around the house! When you’re finished making your car and testing its need for speed, learn about the different parts of a car using our Word Search! Look up the meaning of each word using a dictionary, a Google search, or help from an Amazon Alexa or Google Home if you’ve got one! Alright, now… ready… set… go!

Materials:

  • 6 Wooden Dowels or Sticks (Chris used chopsticks)
  • 2 Straws
  • 4 Bottle Caps
  • Rubber Bands
  • Glue
  • Drill
  • Scissors

Directions:

  1. Measure out the wooden dowels. 2 dowels at 12 inches. 2 dowels at 2 inches
  2. Glue the dowels together to make a base, allowing an inch of the 12-inch dowels to go past the placement of the 2-inch dowels
  3. Glue the straws on the very end of the base on the front and back of the base, parallel to the 2-inch dowels. Cut the excess amount of straw that extends past the width of the base
  4. On one end of the base, cut out some of the straw, leaving an open space in the middle. This is now the back of the car.
  5. With help from a grown-up, punch a hole in the middle of the 4 bottle caps
  6. Take 2 dowels and make sure they are able to fit through the straws and have room to freely rotate. Cut to size, leaving space for an inch of dowel out both sides of the straw
  7. Attach the bottle caps to the wooden dowels, adding a dab of glue to ensure a secure fit
  8. Take two rubber bands, lay one on top of the other. Pull the inner ends of each rubber band, resulting in a knot. Do this until you have 3 rubber bands tied together.
  9. Tie one end the rubber band around the wooden dowel at the front of your car, tie the other end to the wooden dowel on the back of the car that the wheels are attached to
  10. The car is now done! To use it, spin the back wheels to wind the rubber band around the dowel and let go to watch your car go! If the wheels spin in place, try to find wider bottle caps. If the car doesn’t travel far, find CD’s to use for the back wheels.

Click the image to download and share your kiddo’s creations using the hashtag #GCMatHome

Team GCM Creators: Carlynn, Chris, & Lauren

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