Mousetrap Car

I am going to give instructions on how to make your own mini car powered by a mousetrap. Velocity and length totally depends on how you make your mousetrap car. Let’s get started!

Step 1: Materials

Lets start off with major materials needed to assemble a mini car powered by a mousetrap. You will need 2 dowels, 7 zip ties, 2 skewers, tape, cardboard, copper hooks, discs, string, a hot glue gun, balloons, popsicle sticks, and a box cutter.

Materials

Cardboard
Two dowels
String
Mousetrap
Copper hooks
Discs
Balloons
Zip ties
Popsicle sticks
Hot glue
Box cutter
2 skewers

Step 2: Body

Take your large piece of cardboard and cut it into two equal pieces. Make sure the pieces are similar length and width. The pieces of cardboard will make the body of the car. After cutting the cardboard, use the left over cut 2 small rectangles. The rectangle will hold the mousetrap. Once you have a three pieces cut, you will drill one hole at the top of both cardboard pieces and another hole at the bottom of both cardboards, pieces for the wheels.

Step 3: Keep It Firm!

Next, you will take the body of your car and hot glue popsicle sticks to the sides to prevent the cardboard from folding. Do this to both the inside and outside of both pieces of cardboard. You must avoid covering up the hole.

Step 4: Coming Together

Hot glue the body of the car and the mousetrap holder together. Make sure the holes are parallel to each other!

Step 5: Wheels

Now let’s move on to making the wheels. Set the body of the car to the side and take one skewer, three discs, cardboard, and a hot hit glue gun. First take one disc and apply hot glue to either side, then attach the hot glue. Once the two discs dry together take the last disc and hot glue that disc to the two other discs. After that take the stick and slide it through the hole of the discs, use the hot glue gun to apply hot glue to the inner perimeter of the disc and place a small piece of cardboard on it. Once one side of the disc is done and dry, do the same to the other side of the disc. Repeat the same steps to make the other set of wheels.

Step 6: Mousetrap

Now it is time to bring in the mousetrap. Take the hot glue gun and apply hot glue to the back of the mouse trap, then set the mousetrap on the middle part of the body of the car.

Step 7: Put It Together

Now that you have finished creating your wheels, slide the side of the stick that has the detachable discs through both holes of the cardboard. Then, slide the detachable disc back on the car. Do the same with the other set of wheels.

Step 8: Motor

Use zip ties to secure the dowel to the meltal arm of the mousetrap. Do the same thing on the other side. Use two dowels that are the same length and tape them to the side of the sticks and are facing away from the mousetrap. Now make hooks by taking a paper clip and breaks off the curvy parts with wire cutters. Then grab two hooks and hot glue them to the stick part of your wheel. Make sure you hot glue the hooks on the wheel farther away from the string part of the stick. Align the hooks with the sticks!

Step 9: Smooth Ride

Now to make you car move smoother grab two balloons. First cut the top tip of the balloon. Then, but the bottom tip of the ballon. Now, cut the balloon in half. You can not fit the balloon onto the wheel. One ballon can be used for two wheels.

Step 10: Control It

To make your car move take the loop of the strings and put it onto the cooper hook. Wind up the string and let your car roll. The more you wind up the sting the farther it will go. Now you can make your own mousetrap car! Now you can make your own mini car powered by a mousetrap. Remember that velocity and length depends on how you construct you car!