Step 1:Cut
the glue stick in half or thirds. Push the shaft of the motor
into the gluestick. Hold on to the sides so you don't break the
wires. Notice in the picture how the gluestick is positioned off-center?
This will cause your jitterbug to "Jitter". Center the
motor on the piece of styrofoam. Make sure the gluestick on the
motor is free to spin around.
Step 2:
Tape the motor down. Wrap the tape all the way around.
Step 3:MAKE
A CIRCUIT: Tape one of the wires from the motor to the negative
(-) end of the AA battery. On the positive (+) end tape a small
piece of foam or cloth, so that after your bug is all built -
you can just slip the other wire in and watch it go.
Step 4: Now line
it up on the block - evenly so the weight of the motor and battery
balance each other. Tape down the battery.
Step 5: Now turn the block to
the side to attach the four (4) paperclip 'feet'. Open up the
paper clip and push the smaller end into the foam and tape them
down.
Step 6: Bend out the bottom of
the paper clip a bit. This will make it a little more stable.
Bend them however you like, on their ends or on the curves.
Step 7: Turn it over and slide
the other wire onto the positive end of the battery. How does
your jitterbug jiggle?
Step 8: DECORATE YOUR BUG! Now
you can add personality to your bug (or horse or butterfly or
alien creature...) Some of the things we've used are feathers,
wiggly eyes, poker chips, pipe cleaners, and colored sticks -
get creative!
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT AND TRY:
→ Try making some substitutions: sticks or
straws instead of paper clips for legs, a cup instead of foam for
the body - be creative!
→ What happens when you change the position
of the gluestick? Or the size and length of the gluestick?
→ We'll have a similar activity on this site
soon, using a motor and a cup to build a drawing machine.
