There’s a kinder way to take advantage of the energy stored in a mousetrap’s torsion spring: make a mousetrap-powered car! NYU-Poly PhD candidate Dustyn Roberts created this project, featured in her book, Making Things Move: DIY Mechanisms for Inventors, Hobbyists, and Artists (McGraw-Hill, 2010).

Materials

• Mousetrap
• 1/4” diameter wooden dowel
• 2 eye screws that the dowel fits into (like McMaster #9496T27)
• 24" of monofilament (fishing line)
• 2 laser cut wheels (make yourself, or order from Ponoko.com) 
• Wooden paint stirring stick
• Ping-pong ball
• Multi-tool with knife and file
• Duct tape

Adpated from instructables.com where you can find additional images, expanded instructions, and more of Dustyn Roberts’ projects.