Motor Bird

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In this activity, learners build a bird that flies in place with help from a motor, wire, and some straws. This engineering activity introduces learners to circuits and motors, automata, and rotational motion. Note: a drill and drill bit are required for this project, but are not included in the cost of materials. [Activity is publicly available through a web crawler capture on Archive.org.]

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
Under 5 minutes
Learning Time:
30 to 45 minutes
Estimated Materials Cost:
$5 - $10 per student
Age Range:
Ages 6 - 14
Resource Types:
Activity, Lesson/Lesson Plan
Language:
English

Materials List (per student)

  • 2' electrical wire
  • 22" steel wire, around 16 gauge
  • 1 motor
  • 2 screws
  • 1 paperclip
  • 1 straw
  • 1 battery
  • 1 baseboard
  • 2 wood blocks, small
  • cardstock or construction paper
  • scissors
  • screwdriver
  • drill with 1/16" bit and another bit same diameter as steel wire
  • hot glue gun

Keywords

Subjects

  • Engineering and Technology
    • Engineering
      • Electrical Engineering
      • Mechanical Engineering
  • Physical Sciences
    • Electricity and Magnetism
      • Electric Charges and Currents
      • Electric Motors
      • Electric Circuits
    • Energy
      • Energy and Power
      • Work and Machines
    • Motion and Forces
      • Machines
      • Rotation Motion
  • The Nature of Science
    • The Scientific Process
      • Conducting Investigations

Informal Categories

  • Animals
  • Arts and Crafts
  • Electronics
  • Model Building
  • Toys

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

  • see
  • touch

Learning styles supported:

  • Involves hands-on or lab activities

Other

Components that are part of this resource:

Includes alignment to state and/or national standards:

This resource is part of:

Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

  • Fresno Community Science Workshop

Rights:

  • All rights reserved, Fresno Community Science Workshop, 2011

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