Did you know you can make a LEGO car even if you don’t have wheels? It seems impossible, but you can make a wheel-less LEGO car that works. Follow this easy tutorial for how to make a LEGO car without wheels. This is one of our favorite simple LEGO car designs.
The beauty of building with LEGO is that it creates a natural window for kids from toddlers to teens to explore and build STEM skills while they play. In fact, most teachers I know report that LEGO bricks are one of their favorite tools to use in the classroom for STEM activities!
If you want to challenge your students how to make a car without wheels using LEGO bricks, then this tutorial is for you! I’ve included one design for a LEGO car without wheels but always encourage children to use their own creativity when designing a LEGO car.
How to Make a LEGO Car without Wheels- The STEM Connection
This creative STEM challenge is the perfect simple STEM challenge to get children thinking like engineers.
First, set up the conditions for the STEM challenge. Tell the students they will have 30 minutes to build a car from LEGO bricks, but, they cannot use any wheel parts and the LEGO cars must be able to move somehow!
Allow the students time to come up with design ideas, then start the clock for the challenge.
After each group is done building their LEGO car, test each car to see which designs can move and discuss what alternative movement methods the children came up with and which were the most successful and why.
LEGO STEM Kits
Here are some LEGO STEM products you can use in your classroom!
All of these LEGO STEM sets have working, moving parts and are a great way to introduce complete STEM builds and activities to your students.
LEGO Friends Beach Amusement Park
LEGO Ultimate Stunt Riders Challenge
I love open-ended STEM challenges like these because it not only helps kids discover design solutions, but it’s also a great use for those piles and piles of random LEGO bricks that always appear in eveyrone’s house somehow.
However, if you don’t already have enough LEGO bricks for this challenge in your classroom, you can always buy some bricks to use.
I like purchasing LEGO bricks in bulk from previous owners because it is much cheaper than new sets and includes a wider variety of pieces that are excellent for LEGO STEM challenges. My favorite place to find LEGO brick pieces is Etsy. I usually buy them by unsorted pounds like the lots below.
If you need more ideas for LEGO STEM challenges, check out the FREE list of challenges by clicking the image below!
What to Use Instead of Wheels when Building a LEGO Car
The ultimate LEGO car challenge is a car without wheels. So you have to put on your thinking cap and decide how it will move?
What pushes it forward? Or up? This car has jets on the back and hover plates on the bottom to help it move smoothly over land, maybe even water?
There are lots of LEGO sets out there with instructions for builds or you can get creative and come up with your own designs like this. expand more
When setting up a STEM challenge give children a specific direction or handicap, but let them use their creativity to make their LEGO cars move. You can also tie this STEM activity into the science of physics and friction to round out additional STEM topics.
More Easy LEGO Car Designs
Here I show you how to make a LEGO car without wheels, but if you like the idea of making more car-based LEGO STEM challenges, check out some of these other simple LEGO car designs below.
- How to make a LEGO Sports Car
- Easy Step-by-Step LEGO Taxi Instructions
- How to Build an Easy LEGO Car
- Off-Road Race Car
- LEGO Truck Designs
Get the step-by-step directions on how to make a LEGO car without wheels below. You can even print out the instructions and have them available as the kids complete the STEM challenge.
What improvements can you think of to make on this car? How would you do it differently to make your own car without wheels?
How to Make a LEGO Car without Wheels
Is it possible to make a LEGO car even if you don't have wheel pieces? This interesting idea would make a fun LEGO STEM challenge for kids in elementary and middle school. Use this design to inspire your own unique creations.
Materials
- 1 gray 4 x 10 plate
- 2 black 1x8 plates
- 2 black 1 x 8 bricks
- 1 black 2x6 brick
- 1 black 2x4 brick
- 4 black studs
- 2 blue translucent studs
- 2 black 1 x 8 tile
- 1 yellow 1x2 tile
- 1 gray 2x2 slope curved
- 1 black 1 x 4 slope curved
- 1 black lever
- 1 computer brick 2x2
- 1 single stud panel
- 1 modified 3x4 panel (minifig stand)
- Black Minifigure chair seat
Instructions
- To begin, lay out your gray 4x0 baseplate vertically in front of you and fill in the outside of the car by placing a black 2x4 at one end horizontally and a black 2x3 vertically in the center of the other end, finish with two 1x8 bricks.
- Flip over and add 4 black single studs to each corner of the plate.
- Add the lever and a single computer panel stud to the second row of bricks at the opposite end. Place the yellow 1x2 tile on the top of any computer brick you have on hand, and press it into place behind them.
- Next press the black Minifigure chair seat. Snap the 1x4 black slope curved tile into the front and the 1x8 black plates along the sides. If you don’t have any smooth plates without studs on hand you can leave the exposed studs to get a similar look.
- Place two translucent blue studs on either side of the minifig stand and the gray 2x2 sloped curved in the middle of them with the curve sloping up.
The step-by-step directions are below to help you build your own LEGO car without wheels just like this one.
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