They decided very quickly that the cardboard circles were wheels and the skewers the axles.
One student made the conclusion that taping the axle to the paper, would prevent them from turning. We learned that the axle and wheel move together and so we had to find a way to attach the axle that would still allow it to move.
The straws were attached to the paper and then the skewers were fed through them, allowing the siple machine to move the vehicle without much effort or force.
They also noticed that any loads applied had to have their mass spread out and not just set in the middle. Vehicles were not great at holding any load that was round either as it would roll off.
Students were given the opportunity to make a box vehicle with sides so they could carry different loads. It was a long and slow process following a pattern but everyone succeeded. After some exploration with this new design, students also learned that the axle should not be too much wider than the vehicle or it affects it's stability. Some great learning went on with this lesson!