B*****y homework!! How in the name of Aunt Fanny do you make a rubber band powered car???

[Orlando]

Please, please scientific mumsnetters, help us... it's bedtime, dd is distraught and dh is beginning to lose it.

She has to make a car and power it by the means of a rubber band. Personally I don't think it's ever going to take over from petrol, but let's give it our best shot... Help!

oh I don't know... make a catapult and fire it across the room?

Bump anyway!

do you have time to do this??

I've seen this done before. Involves a cotton reel somehow...

You need to make some kind of "propeller" (how do you spell that word??), twist the rubber band under tension,so that when it untwists the propellor turns and pushes the car forwards. Did this years ago when I was a classroom assistant, sadly I can't remember any more details!

Do you have lego? If so look here

If you google, I think there will be more ideas.

naughty naughty, why are you doing your homework late on a sunday evening, you know it should be done friday so you can enjoy your weekend

cotton reel and a matchstick and the matchstick twists the band and you let go or something.sorry cant remember exactly

Have a look at this from the Science Museum website.

Some here made of cardboard

Here's another suggestion from Yahoo:

"Affix the front of the rubber band to the front of the undercarriage, attach the other end to the rear axle. When you twist the wheels backwards, you cause tension in the rubber band. When you let go, the car will move forward until the rubber band becomes relaxed."

What about here or here

(weeping with gratitude) Thank you, darlings, thank you all.

I'm really favouring the catapult idea for it's demonstration of lateral thinking, but the other things have given us some ideas to work from. (Actually, what I'm really, really liking is the fact that I'm sitting here and mumsnetting under the extremely legitimate guise of helping, while dh handles the flack.)

I know-- Sunday night, shame on us. She had 5 pieces of homework this weekend and this afternoon I said enough was enough and we all went out for a long walk.

Big, huge mistake. Am now getting increasingly desperate for a glass of wine. Uniforms to be ironed, sodding alternative technology cars to be manufactured...

definitly let dh do the task

Hula, dh wants to come right over and give you a big kiss.

These are all wonderful, everyone. Thanks!

I love to see other people leaving it all to the last minute like this house - 10 mins ago we were frantically researching Hans C Anderson...

LOL! Did you get one sorted and made? Does it work?

have u never done the egg race? every year at primary school local children in the top juniors would have to design and build a rubber band powered vechile which could safely carry an egg. designs varied from simplay boxes on wheels, with rubber band fixed to one dowel connect the wheels and being wound round the other dowel till it was tight to move, to rather elaboarte big circular things which held an egg safely in the middle, and would wind itself back up so it did 20 lengths of the hall, i swear they had help with that one

Oh, a car. I thought it said 'rubber band powered cat'.

how did it go orlando, was the car a hit?

seuodonim, pmsl at the CAT!

Quick update--

Well, wouldn't you just have known that some kid would make one that went from one end of the school hall to the other. (I say kid-- of course, I mean father with an engineering phd)

DD's moved 3cm.

She describes the experience as 'humiliating.'

Thanks for your support everyone. Now come and visit me on my 'My DD finds us embarrassing and inadequate as parents' thread!

pmsl!

ive been wondering all day what would happen at school.

dd walking off proudly with new elastic band car to do show and tell, and poor parents left at home exhausted from making the damn thing all night!

oh and the other kid cheated of course

i wish i had seen this earlier - she could havee made a paper car and flicked it via rubber band.

wtf are some teachers on seriously. with crapper parenting skills some kids could have been screemed at all night becuase of parents frustrations - of course after a full day at work we have fuck all better to do - and and have no other kids either with similar stupid feckin homework.

thank fuck mine are in seniour school - all this silly shit ends when teachers are too busy or too indifferent to think that this shit brings families together.

jesus H feckin Christ it makes my blood boil just thinking of the stupid fucking things i had to do WITH TWINS
fucking laptop presentations, flip chart projects. both had to be different.

imagine being frustrated with one elastic powered car - then think of the poor feckers with twins - who have to think of not one but two stupid feckin ways to feckin power it.

glad your torture is over for now.