How to Make a Spinning Top Out of Cardboard
For centuries, spinning tops have been an object of intrigue and enjoyment for children. Making a spinning top is very easy. You will just need to keep in mind the scientific notion that moving objects tend to stay in motion.
Things Required:
– Scissors
– Plain paper
– Compass, quart jar or empty plastic margarine tub
– Ballpoint pen
– Empty cereal box or other lightweight cardboard
– Old towel
– Crayons, markers or glitter pens
– Sharpened pencil
– Clear tape
Instructions
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1
Take a plane piece of paper and draw a 3 1/2- to 4-inch circle pattern on it with the help of a compass. You can draw the circle by tracing around the bottom part of a quart jar or empty plastic margarine tub if you do not have a compass at your disposal. Cut the circle out with a pair of scissors. Fold the paper circle in such a way that it makes a perfect semicircle. Fold the semicircle one more time into half. This will form a pie slice shape. Unfold the piece of paper and mark the point where the folds meet. This will be the circle’s center.
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2
Take an empty cereal box and cut along one of its folds. Open the box up and flatten it in such a way that the box takes the form of a single cardboard sheet. Make five different circles on the cardboard, using the paper circle from before as reference. Mark the center point of each circle cardboard circle with a dot. Do not draw on the cardboard’s fold creases.
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3
Fold up an old towel that you no longer use several times. Place the cardboard on the towel and puncture a hole through the center of each of the five circles you drew on the cardboard piece. Use a ball point pen for making the holes. Cut out all five of the cardboard circles.
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4
Decorate one of the cardboard discs using crayons, markers or glitter pens. You can decorate the discs in any desired pattern.
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5
Insert the pointed end of a sharpened pencil through the hole in each of the cardboard discs. Unify the cardboard pieces and secure them to each other with the help of four equal pieces of tape, spaced evenly apart from each other. Remember to keep the decorated cardboard disc on top of the others. Scoot the disc towards the pencils tip until it is at the point where the sharpened area starts.
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6
Test the spinning top and make desired adjustments to the position of the cardboard disc along the pencil if the top wobbles very weakly or spins erratically. You will need to experiment with a few different positions in order to come up with the best one.
