A fun activity at the Discovery Lab is teaching kids about wind energy, motion, friction, and how different forces interact. It can be found in the Workshop as part of the Launch It! theme.
On the Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages Porch, Caitlin Gibbons, the Assistant Education Manager of Classroom Programs at Discovery Lab, takes us step-by-step through how to make a sail car.
Q: What is a sail car?
A: A sail car, also known as a wind-powered car, is a vehicle that uses a sail to harness the energy of the wind to propel it forward. We will see how far it can go, how fast, if it can carry weight, but really the point is to let kids be creative and test out their inventions.
Q: How do you build a sail car?
A: At Discovery Lab, we give kids recycled materials like straws, plastic bottle caps, macrame beads, tape, and paper. The kids can experiment with different shapes and sizes of the sail to see how it impacts the car’s performance. Another…
