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You need:

4 barbed drip irrigation tricklers, green & black with a screw thread

(Veri- Flow, Pope is one possible brand)1 poly irrigation riser,300mm, rigid(also made by Pope), plastic tube,open on one side, connector on the other

1 mousetrap, wood, small4 cup hooks,(15-20 mm,2.2 mm gauge)2 big balloons (~25 cm)1 piece of clear plastic tube (clear vinyl fitting,5 mm x 7 cm)(made by

Pope), make sure it fits tightlyover the blacktube

2 cable ties

(smallest size)45 cm of

thin nonstretchy string(builders stringis rather good)

4 CDs

2 thick self-adhesive feltdots

Tools:

Pair of plierswith cutting partand/or metal saw

SuperglueContact gluePair of scissors

1. Cut offthe thin end of the plastic tubeone 7 cm ( back axle) and one 5.5 cmpiece (front axle)(you can either use agood pair of cutting

pliers or a metal saw). Try to cut asstraight as possible: this later will becritical to make your car runs straight!

2. Drip a few drops of superglue around thecenter of the back axle and tighten a cabletie around it. Cut offthe cable tie tail asclose to the base as possible.

3. Using pliers, cut offpart of the metal wiresof the mousetrap as shown in the picture

on the right. Depending on the mousetrap,

Mousetrap Car Building Guide

BE VERY CAREFUL THAT THE GLUE DOESNT

TOUCH YOUR FINGERS! DONT FORGET THAT IT IS

LIQUID AND WILL RUN DOWN THE TUBE! WHEN

YOU USE SUPERGLUE, ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOU

GIVE IT ENOUH TIME TO DRY BEFORE USING THE

PART FOR THE NEXT STEP.

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you will have to bend some of the wires,so everything stays in place. The springpressure must remain in the longer wire.

4. Screw the 4 cup hooks into the small sidesof the mousetrap, openings facing up. Makesure they go in straight.5. Cut the transparent plastic tube in threepieces:

-one piece fitting in between the 2 cuphooks & the remaining piece cut in half

Slide the big part onto the center of the short axle and theothers onto

theoutsides ofthe longaxle, withhook-hookdistance

betweenthem. Cut offany excess. Fixthem with contact

glue.6. Separate the two parts of the tricklers and

screw the black bits into the outside of thetwo axles.

7. Fit the 4 CDs onto them and screw on thegreen part of the tricklers fromthe other side. Tighten them as

hard as you can.8. Open the cup hooks a tiny bit

with a pair of pliers, just enoughto allow the axles to be pushed in.Dont push them in yet.

9. Make a knot at one end of thestring and use the second cable tieto attach it to the thin end of theremaining piece of black tube. Cut off

the tail. Put some superglue (SEE WARNING ABOVE!) around thecable tie.

10. Slide the tube with its threaded side overthe wire

11.Now fit the two axles through the cuphooks of the mousetrap, the one with theattached cable tie goes to the opposite side

of the newly attached black tube. Make surethe front wheels run inside of the backwheels.

12. Carefully bend back the cup hooks with a pairof pliers, so the axles arent too loose (but stillmove!) and are straight.

13.Tie a secure loop (one that doesnt close whenpushed),2-3 cm long to the loose side of yourstring. When straight,

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the loop should be just short of the back axle. Cut offthe loosetail.

14. Cut out the middle section of the two balloons and pushthem over the rim of the back axle CDs (where the cable tie is):should look like a rim- cover. It is not a decorative element: the

balloons are important to provide some friction between thewheels and the ground.

15. Stick the two self-adhesive felt dots on the corner of themousetrap to make sure that the tube doesnt touch the axle.

Pull the long plastic tube backwards (against the resistance of the

mousetrap spring, so you take pressure offthe string), attach theloop to the axle cable tie and roll the wheels backwards, thusrolling up the string on the axle.

This sounds easy, but is actually rather tricky and takes a bit tolearn. Ask somebody to give you a hand. Roll up the string till it iscompletely stretched, while the plastic tube is tilted all the wayback.

And now the big moment: Keeping everything in position, placethe mousetrap car on an even hard surface, hold the car downand let the plastic tube go! This also might take a few attemptsto get right.

If the car runs to one side, correct the axle position.

Once everybody has their car in perfect running order, start thebig competition: which is the vehicle that covers the longestdistance? Record it on video and publish the results on ourfacebook page.

Investigate different construction proposals

and make up your own mousetrap-car design!Congratulations: Everything is done !

Except the last bit: get it going...

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