As part of their DT unit on vehicles, the children learnt about wheels and axles and how they work. Over the course of the six week topic, the pupils made a car adding wheels and axles using wooden sticks and milk bottle lids before designing and making a working shoe box vehicle.
The children worked in groups of three or four to design and make their vehicle. Some of the designs were very imaginative with themes linked to their favourite animal, film and TV character or sport. They had to work together to decide what materials they were going to use, as well as adding a safety feature such as an airbag, seat belts or brakes.
Then, the day arrived! The children came into their class 'workshop' and followed detailed instructions to make their vehicle. They needed to use saws to cut the axles to the right length, add wheels using the chamfering technique before getting creative and decorating their vehicle.
Following on from the making, came the very important testing! The children were given a testing sheet in which they recorded their vehicle going down the ramp measuring the distance in centimetres.
The children had an amazing day and showed excellent collaborative skills as well as showing care and respect for the tools they were using.
Well done, Year 2! We can see we have some engineers in the making!
