Roller Ball Race
Test force, motion, and friction. Build an adjustable roller ball race track with a cardboard box.
1. What is friction? Think of everyday experiences involving force, motion, and friction. Talk about how friction acts upon moving objects to slow them.
2. In small groups, design roller ball race tracks from recycled cardboard boxes and construction paper. One way is to turn a box on its side and reassemble it so one side bends down as a ramp. Ask an adult to help if you need to cut the box with Crayola® Scissors.
3. Stabilize the box with masking tape. Cut box top flaps into ramp supports. Create different angles.
4. Cut paper to cover box surfaces. Attach with Crayola School Glue. Air dry.
5. Mark ramps with lanes and label ramp support levels with Crayola Washable Markers.
6. Gather balls of different sizes, shapes, and surface textures. Mold your own balls with Crayola Model Magic. To vary the weight and texture, add aquarium gravel. Air dry overnight.
7. Cut different surfaces (sandpaper, aluminum foil, fabric) to attach to ramps to vary the friction.
8. Experiment! Predict rolling speeds of various combinations of balls, ramp levels, and friction surfaces. Create data grids with markers. Use a stopwatch to time your experiments. Record relative or actual ball speeds. Color code data. What did you find?
Adult supervision is required for any arts & crafts project. Observe children closely and intervene as necessary to prevent potential safety problems and ensure appropriate use of arts and crafts materials. Some craft items, particularly beads and buttons, are potential choking hazards for young children. Avoid use of such small parts with children younger than 3 years. Craft items such as scissors, push pins and chenille sticks may have sharp points or edges. Avoid use of materials with sharp points by children younger than 4 years. Read all manufacturers' safety warnings before using arts and craft supplies.
Adult Assistance is required for this arts & crafts project.
Crayola Modeling Materials including Crayola Model Magic®, and Model Magic Fusion™, Crayola Air-Dry Clay, and Crayola Dough—
- Keep away from open flames. Do not use to make candleholders, hot plates, trivets, or other similar objects that will be used or placed near fire and other heat sources.
- Do not put in an oven, microwave, or kiln.
- Do not make into vessels/containers that will hold unpackaged food.
- The use of modeling material to make items that look like food is discouraged for children younger than age 5 to avoid their confusion with real food.
- Unless sealed with a water-resistant glaze, do not make projects exposed to or immersed in water, such as boats or outdoor bird feeders. They would disintegrate when exposed to moisture.
- Crayola Dough—contains gluten (wheat flour) as an ingredient.
- Crayola Air-Dry Clay, Crayola Model Magic and Model Magic Fusion are gluten-free. However, they are produced on the same machinery as Crayola Dough which does contain gluten. Although the machines are cleaned prior to the start of each production run, there is a slight possibility that trace amounts of gluten from Crayola Dough may be present in the other modeling compound products. For information regarding specific ingredients or allergic concerns, please call our Consumer Affairs department at 1-800-272-9652 weekdays between 9 AM and 4 PM Eastern Standard Time.
Scissors—ATTENTION: The cutting edges of scissors are sharp and care should be taken whenever cutting or handling. Blunt-tip scissors should be used only by children 4 years and older. Pointed-tip scissors should be used only by children 6 years and older.
- Evaluate data and draw conclusions about force, motion, and friction. Evaluate roller ball race tracks to determine what improvements could be made to get better results. Determine future research topics associated with this experiment.
- Try rolling objects such as marbles, cotton balls, or small stones. Compare the effects of different weights and shapes.
Hands-Up Math
Library Lovers' Lists
Capture a Character on a Book Cover
