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Building a better Mouse Trap
Fort Scott, Kan. -- Vinyl records, string, dowel rods and a mouse trap, may seem like just odds and ends to some people. However, for two local students, these items fueled their way to victory.
Fort Scott Christian Heights freshmen Jared Bahr and Jaedon Lamb secured first place in Pittsburg State University's Science Day Mouse Trap Car competition on Thursday.
According to Bahr, he had seen other students in years past compete in the competition, and he thought the event sounded neat. This spurred his desire to compete, and this was the first year he has been old enough to do so.
Another motivating factor for Bahr to enter the competition is his love for physics-related activities. He explained that he hopes to someday become an aeronautical or mechanical engineer. Although he is not entirely sure what career route he will take in the future, Bahr said that he is very fascinated with Air Force airplanes. Adding that he is interested in the military as a whole.
Participating in events such as Science Day, gives Bahr an opportunity to experience different aspects of science, and it allows him to see where his interests lie, his mother Maria Bahr said.
Although Fort Scott Christian Heights science teacher Larry Davolt supervised the project to make sure that the two youth stayed within the contest's regulations, the construction of the mousetrap car was done by Bahr and Lamb, according to Maria.
"He (Davolt) checked to make sure they were within guidelines, but he let them use their own creativity," she said.
The Bahr-Lamb mousetrap car was unique in design, according to Bahr. He said that most of the other cars entered in the contest were about one foot long. Bahr and Lamb's car was about 3 feet long.
In addition, the two local students used vinyl records for the car's back wheels; whereas most of the other cars used small compact discs for wheels. On his car, Bahr had installed a cork, which sacrificed distance for power. He said the cork caused the car to operate in a lower gear and gave it more torque.
"The cork allowed it (the car) to travel easier and travel over rough parts of the floor," Bahr said.
According to Bahr, one of the things that helped his car win the competition was his attention to even the smallest details.
Two days before the competition, Bahr said that he had to make some modifications in order to get the car to run in a straight line.
The modifications that Bahr completed helped secure the two students the first place slot. Some of the other cars, which were in the competition, did not get as much distance because they did not travel straight causing them to crash into the wall.
PSU's Science Day event was attended by several Southeast Kansas and Southwest Missouri schools.