It took James Dyson 15 years and over 5000 attempts to make his bagless vacuum cleaner. In two hours, your students will have made their own – although they probably won’t be making millions selling them right away!

They will start by learning how a basic motor works, using their knowledge of electrical circuits, and discover some useful properties they will need later on. Following the Engineering Design Process, they will experiment with various design elements and solve a series of problems. Each problem solved will allow them to add to their machine, until they eventually create a handheld vacuum cleaner that can suck up a mess of confetti.

Curriculum links:

• Year 4 Programme of Study: Electricity
• Year 5 Programme of Study: Forces
• PRIMARY National Curriculum – Design and technology

Documents:

• Risk Assessment for Super Suckers

Contact our schools team with any questions on [email protected]. 

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