A mini Ferris wheel is a fun school project that turns simple craft materials into a working model of a real amusement ride. Cardboard, popsicle sticks, paper cups, a dowel axle, and hot glue can form a strong wheel, frame, and passenger cars. Building one helps students see how design, measurement, forces, and motion work together.
It also gives a clear way to test ideas like balance, rotation, and stable supports.
Key Facts
- A Ferris wheel rotates around an axle, which is the center rod that supports the wheel.
- Balanced spacing of cars helps the wheel turn smoothly and reduces wobbling.
- Circumference of a wheel: C = 2πr, where r is the radius.
- Speed of rotation can be measured as revolutions per minute, or rpm.
- Torque is a turning effect: torque = force x distance from axle.
- A wide base and triangular supports make the frame more stable.
Vocabulary
- Axle
- An axle is a rod or shaft that a wheel turns around.
- Radius
- The radius is the distance from the center of a circle to its outer edge.
- Balance
- Balance means the weight is spread out evenly so the wheel does not tip or wobble.
- Torque
- Torque is the turning force that makes an object rotate around an axle.
- Frame
- The frame is the support structure that holds the Ferris wheel upright.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Placing the cars at uneven distances around the wheel, which makes one side heavier and causes wobbling during rotation.
- Using a weak or narrow base, which can make the whole model tip over when the wheel turns.
- Gluing the wheel directly to the frame, which stops the axle from spinning freely and prevents smooth motion.
- Adding too much hot glue on one side, which changes the balance and can pull the wheel off center.
Practice Questions
- 1 A mini Ferris wheel has a radius of 15 cm. Use C = 2πr with π = 3.14 to find the distance around the wheel.
- 2 A wheel makes 12 full turns in 3 minutes. What is its rotation speed in revolutions per minute?
- 3 Your Ferris wheel wobbles and always stops with the same paper cup at the bottom. Explain what this tells you about the wheel's balance and how you could fix it.