Wagon Wheel Pasta Gear Train - momgineer

Wagon Wheel Pasta Gear Train


Exploring Gears with PASTA!


I dyed some pasta one night to use for some crafts. One of the kinds I had was mini wagon wheels, and when I brought them inside from drying in the garage overnight, my brain was chanting "gears!" so I grabbed some toothpicks and cardboard boxes and made a wagon wheel gear train. I had to share it with the kids (and you too)!

Materials needed for gear pasta:
  • wagon wheel pasta (dye if desired)
  • toothpicks
  • cardboard box

Get started on this gear STEM activity


Pick out the most circular ones to make this easier. All you have to do is put a wagon wheel on the cardboard box and impale the cardboard right through the center hole. Put another wheel next to it and poke your next toothpick through.


Try this with a mix of mini and large wagon wheel pasta as well to make this even more fun! Here's a short video of the pasta gears in action:

 

Engage your students by going in depth with more STEM challenges

This activity was so beneficial for hands-on learning that I developed it into a STEM challenge lesson for upper elementary students. It can be found as one of the challenges in this STEM challenges resource:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/STEM-Activities-10-STEM-Challenges-1560993?utm_source=Momgineer%20Blog&utm_campaign=Wagon%20Wheel%20Gear%20Train%20Post

Pin these ideas for later:

momgineer Meredith Anderson

STEM education is my passion!

No comments:

Post a Comment