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?
Note: The wheels pictured are not typical but are an example of the how students can paint and decorate their vehicles.