Electric Motor Kits
I purchased the Electric Motor kit from my local hobby shop, EverythingHobby. Like most kits, the box
indicates for ages 8+, for the younger ages, I would suggest adult help might be needed. For me, the
instructions could have been a little better, with line diagrams it is hard to see enough detail at times.
When building the kit, be sure to familiarize yourself with all the parts first before starting. The armature
contacts and the brushes look rather similar, but there are only two brushes and three armature contacts.
No soldering is needed to build this motor, the wire is wrapped around contacts which has worked fine for my
motor. This is a three-pole motor which should start in any position without any help to start the motor turning.
Also included is the hull for a small boat and a propeller that is attached to the long shaft that comes out of the
motor. I have not tried running the boat as of yet, but the motor appears to have enough power to propel the boat.
There are also experiments listed at the end of the instructions you may try.
Company Website: http://www.sciencekits.com/
Motor Mechanic Activity Kit by Revell supplies all the parts needed except the battery to build one of the
simple motors often referred to as the "Beakman Motor", referring to the wacky science show guy I would
presume. The kit is easy to assemble and does a good job of connecting to the battery, something that is
lacking in some variations of this motor. For this type of motor, on one side of the coil the insulation is only
removed on half of the wire, this does the "make and break" contact needed for the motor to spin, the
instructions did not appear real clear on this point to me.
Company Website: http://www.revell.com Motor kit found under Science & Education