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  • Build Tip: Add Paint! Place paint on the paper. Don't forget to put the top on! Watch as the Spin Art Machine spins the paint around.

Have you ever ridden on a roller coaster? The feeling you experienced during a roller coaster loop de loop is called centripetal force! Centripetal force is defined as, “the force that is necessary to keep an object moving in a curved path and that is directed inward toward the center of rotation“. The track is exerting force outward on you and the car you’re in. This counters gravity which is trying to push you back down to Earth.

Check out some of our experiments around these concepts by visiting https://youtu.be/f2yCHgRqeC4. In these experiments, we’ll work to pick up bouncy balls with a spinning glass and keep water in a cup as we swing it in circles around the room. 

In your spin art machines you’ll get to see centripetal force in action! The centripetal force acting on the system is supplied by the spinning motor. This force keeps the paint moving in a circular path while the motor is on. This is a “pull” force, similar to how satellites are kept in orbit due to the pull of Earth’s gravity. However when the motor is turned off that force is no longer pulling on the paint so it instead flies away in a straight line away from the circle’s center.

Required Materials

  • 2 AA Batteries
  • 1 AA Battery Holder
  • 3 or more markers
  • 2 Sided Foam Tape
  • Electrical Tape
  • watercolor paper
  • plastic container w/ lid
  • 3 Volt DC Motor
  • cork
  • CD
  • scissors
  • wire stripper

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1

Switch the battery pack to OFF. Slide the cover off of the battery pack and insert two AA batteries. Re-secure the battery holder cover.

Step 2

Poke two holes at the bottom of the plastic container. The red and black wires of the battery pack should fit through the hole.

Step 3

Place the motor inside the bottom center of the plastic container and feed the wires through each of the poked holes so they are sticking out of the opposite side. Secure the motor with double-sided foam tape.

Step 4

Secure the battery pack to the outside of the plastic container using double-sided foam tape.

Step 5

Connect the positive (red) wire of the battery pack and the motor together by twisting the two wires together. You may need to “strip” or remove some of the wire’s insulation to secure them together. Reinforce the connection by wrapping it in electrical tape.

Step 6

Repeat step 5 with the negative (black) wires of the battery pack and motor.

Step 7

Cover the CD hole with a piece of double-sided foam tape and attach it to the cork.

Step 8

Attach the cork to the motor by pressing it onto the motor piston. Check that the cork can rotate on the motor and spin the attached CD.

Step 9

Secure a small square piece of watercolor paper to the CD with a loop of tape.

Step 10

With the top off of the container, experiment with different numbers and placements of the markers while the machine is on.