Supplies : markers, batteries, motor, popsicle sticks, wooden shapes, duct tape, yogurt cup, funnel, copper tape, feather, newsprint
Steps:
- Started with a plastic funnel and duct taped the motor to the top
- Taped popsicle onto the motor
- Put batteries into the device and attached two of the connecting wires together
- Attached 4 magic markers with tape to the inside of the funnel
- Attempted to connect the remaining two wires
- We found that the popsicle seemed to tilt/ had a weak support so we added additional tape
- We had difficulty getting the motor to work so we tried 1) using copper tape to help hold the wires 2)stripped the wires
- When we finally got the motor to run, the machine barely moved and just vibrated in place
We found it slightly discouraging that our machine did not give us the results we expected. We tried a few solutions like removing a marker to alter the weight distribution and altering the popsicle stick but we got the same results. Therefore, we decided to change the design by replacing the funnel with a yogurt container.
Steps:
- Used a yogurt container and attached the battery pack on top
- Taped the motor to the battery pack -We noticed that it was easier to attach the wires together this time since they were on the outside of the container
- Attached a pair of wires using copper tape
- Taped a smaller popsicle stick to the motor
- Taped 4 markers on a slight angle to the outside of the container
- Connected the remaining two wires with copper tape
- Our machine finally worked and the marker made different marks on the paper
- The marks were straight and parallel lines and they looked like tight squiggle
Once we got our project to work and give us results it was very encouraging and made us want to experiment more, incorporate other materials, and play around with the positioning of the materials we already had.
- Then we changed to using only 3 markers and the lines started to become more curved and the machine did not move as quickly
- Next we used two toothpicks on top instead of the popsicle stick- The machine moved a lot faster in a circular pattern and made more circular marks
- Then we tried adding another marker back and added the popsicle back in addition to the toothpicks- the machine went back to making vertical lines
- Next we removed the fourth marker and the popsicle stick and tried putting wooden spools on the toothpicks and secured them with a binder clip- the motor was not smooth and consistent with its motion or marks, but rather random and sporadic
- Then we decided to raise the three markers up on the container and spread the toothpicks into a “v” shape- the machine made wide, smooth circular marks
- We then added weight to the toothpick – the results were circular stipple marks
- Finally we added a marker into the inside of the container, removed the extra weight, and tilted the motor- the machine moved in a circular motion with tight stipple lines
Overall, I found this activity very enjoyable and wish I had access to even more materials to work with and experiment with. It was interesting to see how such small changes could alter the mark making of the machine. I also found it fun to see how many possibilities and approaches there could be, especially when comparing our work to the rest of the class.