1. Have an adult help you cut the heads off two toothbrushes. Make sure one toothbrush has straight bristles and one has slanted bristles.
a. If you cannot cut all the way through the neck of the toothbrush with scissors, you can score it (cut into the surface as far as possible), then bend it back and forth several times to break the head off.
A toothbrush head with straight bristles (left) and one with slanted bristles (right).
2. Cut a small piece of double-sided foam tape, about the size of one of your toothbrush heads.
3. Place one piece of tape onto the back of a toothbrush head, and remove the tape's paper backing.
Place double-sided tape on the back of one of the toothbrush heads.
4. Firmly press a motor (the shiny metal cylinder) lengthwise onto
…show more content…
Repeat steps 2–6 to build your second bristle bot
1. One problem with bristle bots is that they tend to randomly buzz all over the place instead of going straight. This makes it rather difficult to race them against each other. To force them to go straight, cut and fold a piece of paper to make two side-by-side "chutes”. Each chute should be wide enough that a bristle bot does not get stuck against the sides, but narrow enough that it cannot spin around completely. Be sure you have your finished chute on a flat surface.
2. Now, get ready to race your bristle bots! For each bristle bot, twist together the exposed metal part of the red wires from the motor and battery. This will cause your bristle bots to start moving, so don't let them escape!
a. Important: Make sure the exposed metal parts of the red and black wires from the battery do not touch each other. This will create a short circuit and cause the battery to overheat and die very quickly. It is okay for the insulated plastic parts of the wires to touch, just make sure the metal parts do not touch.
3. Pick up your bristle bots and place them side by side in your racing chute, with the cut ends of the toothbrushes facing toward the far end of the