SKU: G4 WUPV 010

Wind-Up Vehicle Small Group Pack

Design and build vehicles that zoom using a spring-driven motor and stored energy.
Grades
2nd-5th Grade
Activity Time
30-45 min
Prep Time
5-10 min
Concepts
Energy Wheels & Axles Iteration

Select the pack size that matches your use case

Learners build

A spring-powered vehicle that stores energy, releases it through wheels, and zooms forward.

Learners start by building a vehicle around a wind-up mechanism, then test how body shape, wheels, and weight affect how it travels.

From there, they can redesign it for speed, distance, stability, cargo, ramps, obstacle courses, or a custom vehicle style.

Build

Learners assemble the core design and see how the parts work together.

Test

They try it, notice what happens, and compare the result with their goal.

Redesign

They make changes, add their own ideas, and improve the build through iteration.

Learners explore

Energy

Use stored energy to spin, launch, roll, or move a design.

Wheels & Axles

Build rolling designs that move using wheels and axles.

Iteration

Test, change, and improve a design through multiple tries.

Ready to run with learners

Student-facing slides introduce the concepts, guide the activity, and help learners reflect on what changed. Educator materials support setup, pacing, discussion, and extensions so this can work in classrooms, libraries, homeschool groups, clubs, or makerspaces.

View Wind-Up Vehicle teaching materials
1

Student Slides

Introduce concepts, guide build moments, and give learners reflection prompts.

2

Educator Guide

Setup notes, pacing help, facilitation prompts, and extension ideas.

3

Flexible Facilitation

Works for classrooms, homeschool groups, libraries, clubs, and makerspaces.

What's included

Choose a pack size to see how the component quantities change for one learner, a small group, or a full class.