Car Crash Toy

Principle: Newton's First Law of Motion

Description of Interaction: When the toy car hits a wall or another object with enough force, the driver will fly out of the car. This toy is for children ages 7-10.

Construction Cost, Durability, and Safety: It will cost approximately $25 to build. Relatively durable. A choking hazard can occur if the passenger is small enough, even if it is connected to the larger component of the car with a string..

What I Learned: I was thinking of ways to easily teach children about elementary physics principles and as a child I would always wonder why my head would jerk forward when the car stopped short or why it was difficult to stand on a moving bus. As I was thinking of these toys, I realized that it is easy to show the characteristics of gravity or inertia, but difficult to create a connection between the laws of motion to a simple toy.