Materials
Plastic interlocking building blocks
Block bases with wheels and a ramp (or try a wooden board or sturdy cardboard over a set of 4 stairs)
Instructions
1. This activity is best suited to a small group of children. Give each child a wheel base and blocks and help her think about building a race car that will go a long distance or will go fast. Then, she builds her car.
2. Test the cars by letting them roll down the ramp. Children initially figure that bigger is better, but once they have done a few trial runs and discovered that the tall cars have a tendency to tip over, they start modifying the cars. The slope of the ramp can be modified to see if that has an effect on time or distance. The children can make predictions, usually "mine's the fastest," and all can see the results immediately.More to doMore science: You can extend this activity by measuring distance, measuring time and exploring concepts like bigger-smaller, longer-shorter, faster-slower. This encourages logical thinking and an understanding of cause and effect relationships.
