National Engineers Month

	Activities by Grade	K - 2		5 - 8
		3 - 4		9 - 12

Spud Cars

Each student will design, build, and race their spud car--applying the skills involving design technology, estimation, problem solving, and measurement.

What you need:

• spud (potato)
• wheels
• axle
• knife
• decoration items
• meter stick
• scale
• stop watch

Directions:

1. Determine the mass of the spud before and after carving.  The completed project must be within 50g of the original mass (not including the wheels).

• Original Mass of your Spud: ____________________________
• Mass after Carving your Spud Car: _______________________
• Describe your Spud Car in Words or Pictures and Highlight its Special Features: ________________
  __________________________________________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________________________________________

Race Day:

Describe how your car performed.  What happened when the track was raised or lowered.  Did the affect the speed of your car?

Spud Car Challenge:

Design and build a spud car that will go down a ramp by its own power and to beyond the bottom of the ramp exit point by three feet.

Edited by Donna Ball, original idea from TOMT