Elliot’s Model Car

Elliot and Stewart bring a small green model car to the garden table. Dad helps set a short wooden ramp on the patio. They leave a clear space beyond it for their first test.

The car rolls down, then curves sharply to the left. Elliot catches it beside a flower pot. He is surprised because Stewart was careful to release it from the middle.

They try turning the ramp a little, but the car still curves the same way. Dad suggests looking at the car itself before they move their whole track to another place.

Stewart gently turns the car over on the table. Elliot looks at its wheels. Thin garden string is wound around one front wheel. It cannot spin as freely as the others.

Dad helps them unwind the string without pulling at the wheel. Elliot turns each wheel with his finger. He checks that all four can move before the next run.

This time the green car rolls down and crosses the clear patio. Stewart catches it beyond the ramp. Elliot points to the straight path it has taken.

They mark a finishing place with a plain wooden block. They take turns testing the car. If it curves again, they stop to check the wheels. They do not change everything at once.

Before going indoors, they put the loose string in their craft box. They pack the car. “One wheel changed the whole journey,” says Elliot. A closer look helped them find the problem.