STUDENT WORK
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Motors
Motors come in endless shapes and sizes, each bringing its own set of possibilities to maker creations. Experimenting with how motors work and adding movement to creations is a great way to level-up one’s skill and push one’s creativity.
![On the left is a picture of a student’s hand holds a vertical contraption made from 2 popsicle sticks, a battery and a motor. A propellor spins at the top. On the right is spinning windmill made from a paper cult and popsicle sticks.](https://ideas.edc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/two_propellers-scaled-600x450.jpg)
How can you NOT make propellers once you know how to make the shaft on a servo motor rotate?
![A rectangular cardboard house sits horizontally on the floor. A wind turbine made from paper and clothes pins sits on the top. A battery is attached to the wires that come from the motor in the center of the wind turbine.](https://ideas.edc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/wind-powered-home-600x450.jpg)
This teacher maker integrated multiple circuits in this wind-powered home. Aside from the light that goes on over the door with a “push” of the button, notice the coin cell battery hanging behind the clothespin. It’s attached with tape to a small servo motor whose rotating shaft spins the blades of the turbine.
![On the left is a picture of an upside down white paper cup with a smiley face. There are four green straws attached to the sides of the cup to make it stand. Two purple popsicle stick arms stick straigh out. A motor sits on the top. A short glue stick hangs down from the top. A student’s hands holds a red and black wire against a battery. On the right is a picture of a white paper plate standing on three toothpicks. On top of the plate is an upside down clear plastic cup. A motor is taped to the top of the cup. A red and a black wire come off the motor. A glue stick is attached to the shaft of the motor and spins.](https://ideas.edc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Two-cups-motors-scaled-600x450.jpg)
Students build creatures out of everyday materials and attach the battery and motor to it. What do you then get when you take a piece of a hot glue stick and attach it, off center, to the stem of the motor. A vibrabot! When the motor turns on and the stem rotates with an off center weight, the object wobbles and vibrates.