Making It: Programmes 27–39
Programme 30: Sibusiso and Mbalenhle Make a Wire Toy

Aims

After watching the programme, pupils should be able to:

measure and mark out materials;
communicate design ideas in different ways, bearing in mind aesthetic qualities, and the use and purpose for which the product is intended;
explore how to use materials and processes;
assemble, join and combine components and materials accurately;
design and make assignments using flexible materials.

Sibusiso and Mbalenhle live in South Africa. They don't get to see many shop-bought toys, but they are experts in making their own unique toys from wire and other bits and pieces.

Sibusiso uses pliers to cut and bend a long piece of wire into a wheel shape. He bends one end of the wire down to make a wheel spoke, then bends it again so that the spoke continues on to make the axle of a wheeled toy. He is so good at working with the tough wire that he can make two wheels, two spokes and an axle all from one single continuous piece of wire.

While he is busy, Mbalenhle stitches together a tiny shirt from a scrap of cotton cloth. The children work hard on the framework and details of their toy. They make a hat, and some rubber tyres from scrap and a tiny drum from an old drinks can.

Finally the toy is ready. As the kids in their township push it along, the wheels turn and a tiny puppet busily beats the drum.

Curriculum Relevance

Art: investigating and making art, craft and design.
Science: forces and motion.
Geography: tourism, recycling.

Background

Wire action toys are found in many parts of Southern Africa, such as Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia. In Chichewa, the national language of Malawi, the word for this kind of toy is 'galimoto' (it means 'car'). It takes a lot of patience, imagination and skill to master the making of a galimoto. Part of the fun is to design a toy that is uniquely your own and makes the cleverest use of any scrap materials that are to hand.

Some wire toys simply have moving wheels. Others use the turning wheels to produce different movements. This is done by bending a U-shape in the wire axle that holds a pair of wheels. Another piece of wire can then be looped around the U-shape. When the wheels move, the axle turns and the U-shape pushes against the loop, causing a movement in the wire attached to it.

Wire action toys are so cleverly made that many kids in Southern Africa have found they can sell their craftwork to foreign tourists. Their skill in toy-making has provided them with a great way of making a living.

Activities

Make a Bobbing Clown

You will need: reel of garden wire; plastic yoghurt pot; 2 round lids from plastic tubs (both the same size); 2 large beads; cork; drinking straw; pencil; ruler; scissors; pliers; bradawl; ball of string; strong sticky tape; acrylic paints; paintbrush.

Before you start: think about how to use the equipment safely and whether you need an adult to supervise. Check with your teacher if you are not sure.

Make a hole in the centre of each lid with a bradawl. The lids will be the wheels of your toy. Turn the yoghurt pot upside down and make a small hole in its base. The pot will be the body of your toy.
Thread 30cm of wire through a wheel. Bend one end of the wire and tape it to the outside of the wheel.
Thread a large bead onto the wire on the other side of the wheel.
Make 2 holes on either side of the yoghurt pot, about halfway from the top. Pass the wire through the holes.
Thread the wire through another bead, then through the second wheel. Your yoghurt pot should now hang between the 2 wheels on a wire axle.
Bend the middle of the axle into a U-shape.
Now bend the free end of the wire and tape it to the outside of the second wheel. Cut off any wire left over.
Thread a second piece of wire through the hole in the top of your clown's body. Loop this wire around the U-shape on the axle.
When the wheels turn, your second piece of wire will go up and down. Push a cork onto the end of the wire where it sticks out of the pot. This will be the head of your clown.
Make a hole and tie a piece of string to the rim of the yoghurt pot.
When you pull the string, your toy will roll along and the cork 'head' will bob up and down.
Paint and decorate the pot and the cork so that it looks like a clown on wheels.

Make a Wire Car

You will need: reel of garden wire; round tin (eg from baked beans); pliers (for cutting the wire).

Before you start: think about how to use the equipment safely and whether you need an adult to supervise. Check with your teacher if you are not sure.

Wind a piece of wire 3 times around the tin to make a wheel shape.
Carefully take the wheel off the tin. Twist a long piece of wire round and round the rim of your wheel to hold all the strands together and make it strong.
Cut a piece of wire to be a spoke (it should be about 5cm wider than the wheel itself). Add the spoke to the wheel twisting the ends around the rim of the wheel to hold it in place.
Make 3 more spokes for your wheel. Twist a small piece of wire around the place where the spokes cross to make a strong hub for your wheel.
Make 4 wheels in this way.
Make a large rectangle of wire (about 20cm long by 10cm wide). Twist more pieces of wire around the rectangle to reinforce it.
Add 4 loops of wire to the rectangle to hold 2 axles.
Thread 15cm lengths of wire through the loops to be the axles of the car.
Twist the ends of the axles around the wheel hubs you have made.
Add more wires to this basic framework (or chassis) to build up the car shape you want. Reinforce any floppy bits by twisting short pieces of wire around the frame.
Check your model for any sharp bits of wire that stick out. Bend these over to make them safe.

Links

Find out about the Streetwires project from South Africa, which uses reclaimed materials to make sculptures:
www.streetwires.co.za/

See photos and make toys using designs for recycled materials from all over the world:
www.worldplay.org/paw/list.html

Museum of Childhood exhibition of moving toys. Check out the push-pull toys that include some from South Africa. Or you could just build your own virtual toy:
www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/nmc/toys.htm

Making It: Programmes 27–39 Programme 30: Sibusiso and Mbalenhle Make a Wire Toy