Playdough Engineering: Build a Race Car

We love playdough at our house, not just because it is squishy and fun (although it is), but also because it can be used for so many different learning activities. Playdough can be used for everything from forming numbers and letters to even science experiments! This time, we used playdough as the medium for an engineering challenge for my preschooler. Her goal was to create a car using just playdough and toothpicks. I was pretty impressed at all the details she remembered and how long she spent building and designing the car. I think, if given the right materials, this design would make an excellent go-kart!

I allowed my daughter to have four colors of play dough. This was mainly because we only had four colors at the time, but also to keep her from mixing the colors up too much.

The challenge was to design a race car. She did most of the building and designing herself, but I did help stabilize the car for her in the early stages.

First, she build the car’s main structure.

Next, it was time to add details! I love that she remembered to put on lights, a seat, a steering wheel, and the little wheel covers. I thought she was done before she added these little details, but she made sure everything was precise before submitting her final design, just like a real engineer ought to. We didn’t have any toys handy to put inside as the driver, but her car would have been the perfect size for a DUPLO person.

I love this engineering challenge because there is room for creativity, but with a structured thought behind it. My preschooler had a blast with this activity and it was fun to see her mind in action during the design process.