CD Tanks

Scrapathon with a twist - Building CD tanks

Based on the idea of cotton-reel tanks, families build rubber band powered tanks from kits of scrap materials and then decorate them to their own design. Then a competition finds the family who have built the most accurate tank and who can judge just the right amount of rubber band winding to reach the target! The tanks are constructed from recycled materials and the families can decorate them once the basic construction has been completed.

As part of National Science and Engineering week, The Nythe Saturday Academy communicated not only the importance of science and engineering to all our lives but the absolute fun and enjoyment you get from designing and making something. We asked the children some questions about what science and engineering had to do with their everyday lives. We looked at how they got ready for school in the morning. ‘What makes the mattress on your bed so comfy?’ ‘ Why do we clean our teeth with toothpaste?’ ‘How does the microwave make my porridge hot?’ ‘What makes the tyres on my bike or car? We learnt that memory foam developed as part of the space programme; the development of fluoride and calcium as abrasives; microwaves; and vulcanization were all involved in just getting the children to school. The Saturday Academy nurtures little Brunel’s, the engineers of tomorrow, through making some amazing tanks from CDs, cardboard tubes and elastic bands. Families had a great time making them and racing them.

Nythe Saturday Academy