Make an Axle Racer

• Corrugated cardboard
• Tacky glue
• Cardboard tube
• Clothespins
• Emery board
• 2 lids from ice cream pints (either plastic-edged or cardboard)
• Bamboo skewer
• Scissors or wire cutters
• 10-inch length of craft wire
• Rubber band
• 3/4-inch wood bead

Cut two 1- by 6-inch strips from corrugated cardboard, as shown. Glue a strip around each end of the cardboard tube, with the strips flush against the tube's ends. Clamp with clothespins until the glue dries.

With the emery board, lightly sand the glossy tops of the pint lids so that the glue will adhere better. Poke a hole in the center of each lid with a bamboo skewer. Apply glue along one end of the tube and press it onto the center of the top of one lid.

Trim the pointed tip and a 2-inch section from the skewer. Fold the wire in half around the rubber band to create a long needle. Thread the wire through the hole in the lid, slipping the 2-inch skewer section into the rubber band as shown.

Apply glue to the other end of the cardboard tube. Thread the second lid onto the wire, and without letting go of the wire, center the lid on the tube.

Pull the wire through so that the end of the rubber band appears. Thread on the wooden bead and the long skewer.

Remove the wire. Once the glue is dry, you're ready to roll! Hold the short skewer still and wind up the long skewer. Set the racer on the ground and let it go.

Originally published in the May 2012 issue of FamilyFun magazine.