Pedagogical guidelines and construction instructions
The Balloon car is a toy car made from standard cardboard, straws, wooden skewers, bottle tops and a balloon. It will move on its own when the balloon is inflated. The balloon car is suitable for children from 5 to 8 years.
It results in a toy that can be used by the children in many ways, and opens up a number of subject areas for further learning. A moving car is a very motivating and exciting toy for children, it is nice for the children to be allowed to play with their cars, once they have made them.
When constructing the Balloon car several learning goals can be achieved:
- To practice measuring and using a ruler
- An introduction to simple fractions
- To learn about physics and mechanisms
- To develop engineering competences of analysis and construction
- To learn mathematical concepts within the construction and assembly process, including shapes and numbers.
- Other soft-learning goals can be included; problem solving and creativity.
Instructions – how to use:
The balloon car to teach STEM concepts and Step by step guide – English
Carro Balão – download the Step by step guide in Portuguese here
Veiledning til konstruksjon og didaktisk bruk av ballongbilen kan lastes ned på norsk her
La Macchina e la Barca Palloncino istruzioni in Italiano
Балонна кола – Инструкции за изграждане Bulgarian
Video tutorial (see above)