The Pitsco Balsa Wood Basic Mousetrap Vehicle kit provides students in grades 6-12 a hands-on activity to design and build a model car that demonstrates scientific concepts including velocity, force, motion, and Newton's laws of physics, and it teaches engineering design. Students can build the car from the kit and can modify the car for improved performance and greater speed. The kit includes a mousetrap, 12- and 18-inch long balsa wood pieces, standard-sized compact discs for wheels, wheel spacers, thrust washers, 12-inch brass tubing pieces, ultra-thin string, and instructions. Pitsco kits 57034 (pack of 10 kits) and 57035 (pack of 30 kits) also include a copy of the handbook, Doc Fizzix's Mousetrap Powered Cars and Boats. The finished vehicle measures approximately 4.5 x 5 x 26.5 inches (H x W x D). (H is height, the vertical distance from lowest to highest point; W is width, the horizontal distance from left to right; D is depth, the horizontal distance from front to back.) A mousetrap vehicle kit is typically used in an educational setting to demonstrate engineering and physics.
Construction requires white glue, ruler, hobby knife, wire cutter, and a drill or Dremel tool (all sold separately).
Science education products incorporate applied math and science principles into classroom projects. Teachers in pre-K, elementary, and secondary classrooms use science education kits and products alongside science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum to demonstrate STEM concepts and real-world applications through hands-on activities. Science education projects include a broad range of activities, such as practical experiments in engineering, aeronautics, robotics, energy, chemistry, physics, biology, and geology.
Pitsco Education develops K-12 science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum, educational kits, and classroom tools. The company, founded in 1971, is headquartered in Pittsburg, KS.
What’s in the Box?
- Pitsco Balsa Wood Basic Mousetrap Vehicle Kit
- Mousetraps (one per car)
- Balsa wood pieces (3 per car)
- Compact discs (4 per car)
- Wheel spacers (4 per car)
- Washers (4 per car)
- Brass tubing (2 lengths per car)
- Ultra-thin string (1 length per car)
- A handbook, Doc Fizzix's Mousetrap Powered Cars and Boats (10 pack and 30 pack only)
- Instructions
Note: The wheels pictured are not typical but are an example of the how students can paint and decorate their vehicles.
