How to Build a Mousetrap Car Using a TOMCAT Mousetrap
- 1). Cut a square out of your cardboard 5 inches long and 3 inches wide. Use the ruler, pen and craft knife. Be aware that the popsicle sticks will eventually be adding strength to the chassis, so make sure you cut the cardboard to the right size.
- 2). Glue two popsicle sticks down opposite sides of the cardboard lengthwise. Apply pressure to the popsicle sticks so they stick properly. Leave them to dry. Cut the third popsicle stick in half and stick one piece across at what will be the front. Stick the other piece across two thirds of the way down the cardboard leaving 1 1/2 inches of room at the end. This will be the back.
- 3). Mark a section of the cardboard right at the back measuring 3 cm by 5 cm. Cut it out and discard.
- 4). Open out two paper clips from the middle so they look like squashed S's, and cut them in half using the pliers. Trim so they make equal sided U shapes. These will form the wheel mounts. Push them through the bottom of the cardboard where the wheels will be and secure them by bending the tops flat.
- 5). Take the clothes hanger and cut sections of it to use as the axles for your wheels. Ensure they clear the body of the car by at least 1 inch on either side so the wheels don't suffer any interference. Minimize wheel-wobble by cutting sections of the straw and threading the axles through the straw sections before threading them through the wheel mounts.
- 6). Cut circular sections from cardboard to fit inside the juice bottle caps. Fix these in place with glue. Push the axles through the cardboard and glue. These are your wheels.
- 7). Cut a foot long section of the clothes hanger and bend one end over with the pliers to make a hook. This is where the string that drives car will be attached. Attach the arm to the mousetrap trap (the part that springs) using wire to secure it.
- 8). Glue the mousetrap to the car so the clothes hanger piece is pointing over the front of the car. Secure one end of the string to the end of the clothes hanger and wrap one end around the rear wheel axle. Pull the arm back, release and watch it go.
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