The built Missile Truck kit

Smartivity bonus

Missile Truck bonus activities

4 missions and 3 tinker tests. Can you win all 7 stars?

Four new things to try with your Missile Truck. None of them are in the manual. Pick one, or try them all this week.

0 of 7 done

Tap Done! on a mission to win its star.

Your missions

  1. Mission 1 of 4

    Best angle

    • Empty corridor
    • Sticky notes

    In an empty hallway or corridor, launch one Missile with the aim tilted low, one in the middle and one high. Mark each landing spot with a sticky note. Which angle went farthest?

  2. Mission 2 of 4

    Bottle air push

    • Kitchen table
    • Empty bottle

    Lay a ping-pong ball (or a cotton ball) on the table and squeeze an empty plastic bottle at it, first slowly, then quickly. Which squeeze moves it farther?

  3. Mission 3 of 4

    Rack and pinion hunt

    • Ask a grown-up

    The Reload Button uses a rack (straight teeth) and a pinion (round teeth). Ask a grown-up where else they are used: most cars steer with one, and many sliding gates and microscope focus knobs use one too.

  4. Mission 4 of 4

    Delivery route

    • Paper + pencil
    • Your room

    Draw a map of your room with a base and 3 checkpoints. Drive the truck to each checkpoint and park it facing the next one.

Tinker it

Change one thing. Guess. Test 3 times. Write it down.

  1. Tinker test 1 of 3

    Launch From Up High

    • Low sturdy table
    • Sticky note

    What you'll change: Move the whole truck from the floor up onto a low, sturdy table so the Missile starts higher. Keep the same aim and the same Pump hit.

    1. Set the aim to the middle tilt and leave it there for every launch. With the truck on the floor and a grown-up's hand resting on the back of it, launch 3 Missiles toward an empty space. Count heel-to-toe foot lengths from the front of the truck to each landing spot and write them down.
    2. A grown-up puts the truck on a low, sturdy table (like a centre table) facing the same empty space, with all 6 wheels well back from the edge. Put a sticky note on the floor right under the front of the truck. Predict: will the Missiles land closer, farther or about the same?
    3. With the grown-up's hand on the back of the truck, launch 3 Missiles with the same aim and the same full hit on the Pump. Count foot lengths from the sticky note to each landing spot.
    4. Record both sets of 3 numbers, circle the longest in each set and check your prediction.

    What's going on: With the same launch speed and the same angle, a Missile that starts higher stays in the air longer before it reaches the floor, so it travels farther forward before it lands.

    Safety and undo: A grown-up places the truck, holds it steady and stays beside the table, with the truck well back from the edge. Use only the kit's soft Missiles and launch only into an empty space, never at people or pets. Undo: lift the truck back down to the floor. No kit part is changed.

  2. Tinker test 2 of 3

    Clay-Nose Missile

    • Modelling clay or plasticine
    • Sticky notes

    What you'll change: Press a chana-size cap of modelling clay onto the orange tip of one Missile to make its nose heavier.

    1. Set the Aim to the middle tilt and leave it there. With a grown-up's hand on the back of the truck, press the Reload Button and load just 1 plain Missile on the BLUE mark (manual page 71), then launch it into an empty space with a full hit on the Pump. Put a sticky note where it first touches down and count heel-to-toe foot lengths from the front of the truck to it. Do this 3 times and write the numbers down.
    2. Make the change: roll a chana-size ball of non-drying modelling clay or plasticine (not atta dough) and press it gently over the orange tip of the same Missile. Keep the cap no wider than the orange tip.
    3. Predict: will the clay-nose Missile land closer, farther or about the same? Will it fly straighter or wobble more?
    4. Load only that Missile the same way (Reload Button, then the BLUE mark, clay end facing out as the tip always does) and launch it 3 times with the same Aim and the same full hit. Mark and count foot lengths each time.
    5. Record both sets of 3 numbers and circle the longest in each. Was your prediction right?

    What's going on: The same push of air gives a heavier Missile less speed at the start, but a heavier Missile is also slowed less by the air, so which one lands farther depends on how much clay you add. Weight at the front also helps a Missile fly nose-first instead of tumbling.

    Safety and undo: Load only the clay-nose Missile, so its cap can't bump the other Missiles in the Revolver. If it won't fly off with a full hit, slide it off by hand and use less clay; don't keep hitting the Pump harder. Use soft clay only (no coins or other hard weights), and launch only into an empty space, never at people or pets. Undo: peel the clay off and wipe the tip with a dry tissue. No kit part is changed. Keep clay bits away from little ones under 3.

  3. Tinker test 3 of 3

    Ramp Roll Race

    • Big cardboard carton
    • 3 thick school books

    What you'll change: How steep a cardboard ramp is: 1, then 2, then 3 books under its top end. The truck rolls down it with no push.

    1. Lock the Air Pump onto the truck as shown on "Done playing?" (p75). A grown-up cuts a stiff, flat strip from a big cardboard carton, about 60 cm long and about twice as wide as the truck. Rest one end on 1 thick book and the other end on a hard floor with clear space beyond it. Tape the bottom edge flat with masking tape.
    2. Hold the truck at the top with its wheels on the ramp, then let go without pushing. A grown-up keeps a hand beside the ramp in case the truck drifts off the side. Count heel-to-toe foot lengths from the bottom of the ramp to where the truck stops. Do it 3 times and write the numbers down.
    3. Predict: with 2 books, and then 3 books, will the truck roll farther, less far or about the same? Test each 3 times, starting from the same spot at the top every time.
    4. Record the 3 numbers for each ramp and circle the longest roll for each. Was your prediction right?

    What's going on: Raising the top of the ramp gives the truck more stored energy from its height. As it rolls down, gravity turns that into motion energy. On a steeper ramp the truck is moving faster at the bottom, so it rolls farther before friction in the wheels and on the floor stops it.

    Safety and undo: Use no more than 3 books. Keep the space at the bottom clear and away from stairs. A grown-up stops the truck before it reaches furniture. Never push it down the ramp. Undo: peel off the tape, put the books away and unlock the Air Pump as usual. No kit part is changed.

Safety first: Use only the kit's soft missiles. Never aim at people or pets.

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