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Texas Reading Club Manual 303
Directions
Art cars usually begin as older cars in need of attention. The owner decides to decorate the car
to spruce it up and make it look nicer, or to show off a special interest or hobby. The result is a
car that has been decorated, embellished, and transformed into a rolling work of art. While it
would be a lot of fun to design a library art car, it is not likely to happen in most communities.
If, by some chance, someone on the library staff or in the community would like to have their
car transformed, Roads Scholar Art Car Kit is available from the American Visionary Art
Museum at www.avam.org/artcar/artCar.pdf.
Show the teens pictures of art cars printed or displayed on-line from sites such as Art Cars in
Cyberspace, www.artcars.com. Teens can then make model art cars with plastic or metal toy
cars, purchased at a toy store or five-and-dime store. If you cannot find inexpensive cars locally,
purchase 3-inch die-cast cars from Sherman Specialties, www.ShermanToys.com. Provide an
assortment of small decorative items, such as beads, jewels, charms, stickers, plastic bugs and
animals, small shells, and other trinkets. Use a tacky glue, such as Aleene's ® Quick Dry Tacky
Glue, that dries quickly and does not run. After decorating the car, be sure to allow time for the
glue to dry before taking it home.
Games and Activities
Memory Bracelets
Lance Armstrong has used his celebrity to further a cause. His yellow rubber bracelets have
raised millions of dollars to fight cancer. As a group, select a local cause and make bracelets.
Memory bracelets can be made with memory wire, which is coiled wire that remembers its
shape, and colored beads. Both are available at beading shops and crafts stores, such as
Michaels, www.michaels.com.
Solar Power
Purchase a copy of The Solar Car Book: A Complete Build-It-Yourself Solar Car Kit Including
All the Parts, Instructions and Pain-Free Science by the editors of Klutz. The inexpensive kit
provides all the materials to make a solar-powered racecar. If you cannot afford to buy enough
supplies for each teen, purchase a couple and let the teens work in groups and then display the
cars in the library.
Web-Based Activities
Pimp My Ride
www.streetracersonline.com/flash/pimp.php
Don’t be turned off by the title of the MTV show: it’s about transforming cars from hideous to
magnificent. This on-line game allows teens to “customize” their wheels. Allow a set amount of
time and then let the teens print their work to display.
Word Racer
http://games.yahoo.com