Weather Vanes

Aim: This is to illustrate how to make a weather vane.

Equipment: The equipment includes... 

• square piece of wood for base.
• very short piece dowel (5cm).
• 1 drinking straw.
• thin pin.
• small piece of card.
• masking tape.
• nail.

Method: Construct the following using the materials above...

Background knowledge: Nail the dowel to the wooden base (with a small nail!). The spinner should be balanced at the point where the pin is located. To work out where the pin should be located along the straw try to balance the straw (with vane attached) on your finger. The point at which it balances should be where the pin goes (this is the centre of balance).