Set Sail on Your Next Creation:

Embark on missions that test your ingenuity and teamwork. Every project is a voyage toward discovery, skill, and confidence.

A small DIY robotic car with a red propeller, black tires, and various electronic components, sitting on a wooden table.

A wooden table with various DIY project components, including a small motor, wheels, a propeller, electrical wires, tape, a plastic zip bag, scissors, a ruler, and cardboard sheets.

Project 1:

The Power of Wind

Just as the Endeavour harnessed the wind to cross oceans, we capture that same energy to set our propeller cars—and our learning—into motion.”

Your Mission:

Just as the crew of the Endeavour once relied on the wind to cross vast oceans, your challenge is to harness that same invisible force to set your own creation in motion. Using simple materials—chipboard, wheels, tape, a DC motor, and a small plastic propeller—you’ll design and build a vehicle that captures the power of air to drive it forward. Like true explorers, you’ll test, adjust, and refine your design until your craft moves smoothly and efficiently. Each improvement brings you closer to mastering the principles of motion, energy, and ingenuity that once propelled explorers toward discovery.

Want to see someone else finish it?

Watch Mr. Reed complete this project in the video below….

A 3D modeling interface showing a floor plan with various colored sections, measurements, and shape tools on the right.

Project 2:

The Next Endeavor: Reinventing the Ride

After testing your first propeller-powered vehicle, it’s time to take the next step—transforming your concept into a custom 3D design worthy of the open seas (or classroom floor).

Your Mission:

How You'll know you're done

Want to see someone else finish it?

Watch Mr. Reed complete this project in the video below….

A small toy wind turbine connected to a battery pack and a power switch on a wooden table.

A wooden table with various robotics and engineering components including two small wheels, a motor, wires, tape, scissors, and a square piece of cardboard or foam board.

Your Mission:

Design and build a simple circuit that includes a battery compartment, DC motor, and switch. Learn how electrical energy flows through your system, and wire the switch correctly so that your car can start and stop at your command. Once your wiring is complete, install the switch into your 3D-printed base from the previous challenge.

What You'll Need

All of the materials from the first project, except the chipboard - that will be replaced by your 3D printed baseplate -and-

wires, wire strippers, and an on/off switch.

How You'll know you're done

Your journey is complete when your circuit powers the motor only when the switch is turned on, and your propeller car moves smoothly across the surface. The connections should be secure, the switch firmly mounted, and your car’s motion fully under your control. Like the navigator who trims the sails to steer the ship, you’ll know your design is successful when you can command your own current.

Project 3:

Commanding the Current

Explorers learned to harness the wind—now it’s time to master electricity. In this challenge, you’ll wire a working switch and install it into your propeller-powered car, giving you control over when your vessel sets sail.

Want to see someone else finish it?

Watch Mr. Reed complete this project in the video below….