Car Races Science Investigation

Some of my kids’ favorite activities involve cars and ramps. It’s a classic play idea that works for so many ages. Today we’re sharing a car races science investigation inspired by the book, Eat Pete by Michael Rex sent to us by Penguin Young Readers. I get commissions for purchases made through the affiliate links in this post.

Eat Pete by Michael Rex

Eat Pete is not your typical monster book. He doesn’t seem like a nice, friendly monster. Nope, this monster has come to Pete’s window with a specific purpose – to eat Pete! Unknowingly, Pete invites the monster in to play cars. The monster just really wants to eat the boy, but playing cars looks like fun. Thus, the monster is distracted and postpones eating Pete. Pete and the monster continue the fun by playing pirates and building with blocks together.

When Pete suggests they play superheroes, the monster finally can’t take it anymore, so he eats Pete. (I didn’t expect Pete to be eaten. Although my daughter said she knew it was going to happen.) With Pete gone, the monster continues playing on his own. But it’s just not fun to play alone. So the monster spits Pete out. Pete tells him, “That was not very nice!” The monster apologizes and the two are back to being friends.

This story takes play dates and child interactions to the extreme, but there’s a message about friendship and appearances in here. Don’t be afraid to play with someone (even if they’re monster who wants to eat you). Be nice to your friends as it’s more fun to play with someone than to play alone.

Car Races Science Investigation

As soon as my daughter saw the car races in the book, she asked to get out our cars. (I love it when books inspire play.) In the book, Pete sets up a ramp against his dresser. I decided to go for something a little lower. You can build a ramp with so many different things. Check out this kinetic energy post for ideas on what to use.

We set up our car races science investigation similarly to our Things That Go Experiment. We we used the Hot Wheels Workshop Track Builder Starter Set that launches two cars at once. Just push the button and watch the cars race.

Lily (age 4) chose a bunch of cars to race. She lined them up in a parking lot (just like in the book).

Test which cars go the fastest by racing them two at a time. The winner moves on to the next round. (You could also time how long each car takes to travel down your ramp.)

Make a prediction: which car is the fastest? What makes it faster? Is it the size or the weight that makes a difference? Measure the cars and weigh them to check this out.

How far will each car travel? Use a tape measure to find out. Does the fastest car travel the farthest?

More Preschool Activities with Cars

• Learn Colors with Ramps and Car Rainbows – Sort cars by their color after racing them down a ramp.
• Cars and Blocks Measuring Experiment – How far will the cars push the blocks along the track?
• Car Parking Math Game – Practice counting and number recognition while parking cars.

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