Wind Ways – Mobiles

Art Engineering Science
Time 1 hour
Age 7 & up
Group Size 4 or more
Tags Art, Balance, Design,   more...
Problem Solving Recycle Science String Teamwork Wind

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind...

Building mobiles is a great way to teach children about concepts of balance while they also develop all of the process skills used in engineering challenges. By looking at how these mobiles move in the wind, they will also learn about air currents and how different shapes react to moving air.

Preparation

Create a simple mobile ahead of time to show to your students. Gather all materials, and try to have as much variety as you can. Some of the recycled materials should be heavy (like metal washers, metal spoons, etc.) and some should be light (like cotton balls and paper). If you are using plastic straws for this activity, you must use thread as your string and light materials to hang from the mobiles. Pieces of stiff paper like card stock or construction paper can be used, and children can cut different shapes out of the paper.

Cut the string or thread into pieces between 6″ and 12″ long. The lengths do not need to be exact. If you are using empty egg cartons, cut them up so you have 12 little “cups” (the place the eggs rest in)—these are great for making mini sailboats and other creative objects to hang from the mobiles.

Resources

Figure 1 Figure 1

Figure 1

 Figure 2 Figure 2

Figure 2
Wind Ways – Mobiles
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Suggested Materials

  • Dowels (3/8″ diameter, 12″ long), wood skewers, sticks from outside or straws (50)
  • Thin string or thread (100 feet or more)
  • Recycled materials (CDs, foam, cotton balls, metal washers, empty egg cartons, etc.)
1

Make it Matter

Opening Discussion

Ask your students about things they do where they have to stay “balanced”. Is it easy or hard to stay balanced? They may mention balance beams, see-saws or riding a bike. If they lose their balance doing these things, what do they do to get back in balance? What does it look like when something is “balanced”?

The Challenge

Create a mobile that is balanced and that moves in the wind.

2

Make it Happen

Doing the Activity

  1. Divide your class into teams of 2–3 for this activity.
  2. Show your students the materials that you have gathered for them to use.
  3. For the first part of the activity, challenge them to build just 1 level of their mobile. Have each team tie a long piece of string (10″–12″) to the middle of one dowel, and hold the other end of the string. What happens? Is the dowel “balanced”? What can they do to make it balanced? Have them investigate this until everyone has a balanced dowel. Let them discover (rather than showing them) that moving the string left or right on the dowel will change how well the dowel is balanced (See Figure 1).
  4. Next, have each team select 2 objects from the pile of materials you have gathered. Ask them to tie a piece of string (any length) to each object and then tie the other ends of the strings to the dowel so that 1 object is on the left side and 1 is on the right side of the dowel. Have them hold the loose string that is tied to the dowel again—does the dowel balance now? What can they do to get it in balance? Have them investigate some more.
3

Make it Click

Let’s Talk About It

When each team has balanced their dowel with 2 objects, gather the whole group together to talk about what they’ve discovered. What did they do to balance their dowels? Was it easy or difficult to figure out? Are there different ways of balancing the dowel? Many students will repeat the action from the first investigation and will move the string that they are holding on to the dowel with. This is one way to balance the dowel. Some teams might also have discovered that they can balance their dowel by moving the string attached to the hanging objects in toward the center or out toward the edge of the dowel. If no teams discover this, show them how they can do this. Some other questions to investigate include: Does changing the objects that are hanging from the dowel change how it balances? Does changing the length of the string that the objects are hanging from change how the dowel balances?

4

Make it Better

Build On What They Talked About

After this discussion, send the teams back to make a multi-level mobile. When assembling a mobile, it is easiest to balance if you work from the bottom up. Have teams create a second dowel that has 2 objects hanging from it in balance (or, simply pick a new object from the materials pile), then they can tie the end of the string that they have been holding on their first dowel to one end of a third dowel, and connect their second balanced dowel to the other end of this third dowel. Tie a new string or thread to the middle of the third dowel, between the 2 hanging balanced dowels, then move this middle string back and forth until you find where it balances. Tape or glue the strings in place. Students can hang this mobile, or continue adding levels until they are done. A finished mobile might look like this (See Figure 2).

Suggestions

  • Hang objects from a mobile and watch them respond to the slightest movement of air. Try different locations to detect air movement in your room.
  • Try different sails on model boats made from egg cartons and you can test out sail shapes to see how they react to moving air.
  • Use origami paper for gliders or leaves.
  • Tell a story with the mobiles, and incorporate the wind if you can.
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