DIY Spin Art Machine - STEM / STEAM Project for Kids

The spin art machine is a classic toy with dozens of DIY designs, but none of the tutorials I found are ideal for teachers. The parts are too expensive or bulky, or the motor runs way too fast to be safe around kids, or it's too difficult for kids to build on their own.

This design solves all that: inexpensive & reliable parts, ideal spinning speed, and accessible for kids ages 6+

This project also lets kids explore energy transfer as energy moves from the batteries, to a motor, to the spinning disk. They see energy conversion in real time as motion turns into sound, vibration, and a bit of heat. There are also opportunities to explore stability and balance, especially if the disk is not centered!

They also explore patterns, how simple drawings transform under rotation, creating symmetry and new designs. As speed increases, they see limits of human vision, like motion blur and persistence of vision. Testing different inputs - drawing patterns - turns it into a true STEAM activity, where they explore unexpected findings and compare results.

Tools:

1. Narrow gauge wire strippers (for teachers)
2. Ruler
3. Right angle or protractor
4. Felt tip markers
5. Hot glue (optional)

Supplies:

1. Scrap cardboard rectangle, about 6x10 inches (1 per kid)
2. 6" cardboard circles or paper plates (1 per kid)
3. 3V electric motors, high torque low RPM (1 per kid)
4. (important to use this type of motor!)
5. 2x AA battery holders with switch (2 per kid)
6. (optional: get these without the switch, and add a switch component to the circuit to make the circuitry clearer for kids)
7. 48 teeth plastic gear, 2mm hole (1 per kid)
8. 1" adhesive foam circle (1 per kid)
9. AA batteries (2 per kid)
10. 6" paper circles (1 per kid)
11. Masking tape

Total cost of supplies: around $4.5 per kid, assuming each kid gets 10 paper circles

Important: The motor is the most critical part of this project, and often the wrong kind is used. Typical DC motors will likely spin way too fast, or won't provide enough torque to overcome the friction created by drawing on the spinning disk. The "generator motors," linked above, have the right balance of speed and strength.

I avoid prep as much as possible, however if you want kids to create the circuits themselves, then the wires will need to be stripped by about 1". It's also important to center the cardboard circle over the motor or else it will wobble a lot. For younger kids, I recommend tracing a circle on the cardboard so they can easily find the center. Older kids can find the center themselves with a neat geometry trick.

1) Strip the wires

Strip about 1" of insulation off the wires for the motors and holders. This will make it much easier for kids to twist the wires together.

Tip: Do NOT put the batteries in yet. If the holder is turned on with batteries inside and the wires cross, it will create a dangerous short circuit. You can explain a short circuit as: too much energy is trying to move too fast, with nowhere useful to go, and it turns into heat instead. When the energy is used to turn the motor, it's being used up to create motion, and doesn't generate as much heat.

2) Cut the cardboard rectangles

1. You'll need to cut one 6x9" cardboard rectangle per kid (does not need to be precise).

3) Find the center of the cardboard circles

1. Draw three lines that are each 5-inches long across the circle from edge to edge. The lines can be anywhere, but spread them out. Mark the center of each line.
2. Use a right angle or protractor to create a right angle from the center of the line, up toward the middle of the circle.
3. The point where the 3 right angles intersect is the center of the circle. Neat!

Tip: Create a tracing template. If you're prepping this for kids, use the method above to find the center in one of the circle pieces of paper, and cut out a 1" circle. Use this as a template to trace circles in the middle of each cardboard circle.

This is the trickiest part for kids. I find the best way to explain it is:

1. Hold the wires side-by-side with one hand. It doesn't matter if the wires are red-to-red or red-to-black
2. Use your other hand to pinch and twist the wires 10 times.
3. Repeat with the other connection

Tip: If some kids get it and some don't, have them help each other.

Tape the exposed metal wire connections to the cardboard rectangle away from each other.

Use a crosshatching taping technique with 4 pieces of tape to tape the motor down. The tape forms a #-shaped pattern.

Alternatively, for a more secure connection you can hot glue at least 3 wood cubes to the sides of the motor. Do NOT glue the motor directly to the cardboard, or the glue may seep inside the motor and ruin it. This method is sturdier and faster, but requires hot glue.

Don't use the adhesive circles for this, they don't stick to the motor.

Once this step is complete, now is a good time to put batteries in, then tape the holder down too.

The plastic gear is what will securely connect the motor to the cardboard circle. Don't substitute this part; it's cheap and helps transfer the motion of the motor directly into the spinning disk.

Use a 1" adhesive circle to attach the flat side of the gear to the center of the cardboard.

1. Try to center the gear as best as possible. Some wobble is okay, but if the gear is way off-center then the spin art machine will shake like crazy. Great if you want to talk about frequency and vibration, not so great if you want a working spin art machine.

Then, get down low so you can see both the motor shaft and the gear. Firmly press the hole in the gear onto the motor shaft.

The spin art machine is done!

To attach paper to the circle, just use a loop of masking tape.

This STEM project is unusual because the experimentation is not really about the project design. Instead, kids experiment with how our eyes perceive light and waves by observing how things look different when spinning faster than we can perceive.

The natural way to use the project is to simply draw on it while it's spinning. When doing this, let the disk spin up to full speed first, then apply light pressure when drawing. This is fun and satisfying, but the learning opportunities are limited.

The more interesting way to explore concepts like motion blur and persistence of vision is to draw on the paper first, then spin it up to speed. It's always a surprise to see how images transform when they are moving faster than our ability to perceive them. This is a great opportunity for kids to make a hypothesis, test, and observe what happens.

A few challenge ideas:

1. Create a circle from squares: Challenge kids to only draw squares on the paper and see if they can make it look like a circle when spinning.
2. Create a new color by "mixing" 2 or more colors: Kids draw blocks of color on a piece of paper, then spin it up to see if a new color appears.
3. Create something that disappears: Draw something on the circle that is easy to see when not spinning, but disappears completely when spinning at full speed.

1. Limit kids to a certain number of pieces of paper.
2. Avoid papercuts! Slow down the disk by touching either the top of the paper or the underside of the cardboard circle, never the edge. Remind them repeatedly throughout the activity, and have bandages on hand.
3. If you plan to reuse the materials, then don't use hot glue.