Spinning Tops

Two spinning tops made from 3⅛ in circles on toothpicks. As they spin, the six-section rainbow blends into one pale shade, and the colored arcs on the second circle turn into three solid rings.

• Easy
• 2 tops
• 2 circles, 3⅛ in each
• 2 toothpicks

Make it with your phone cameraLesson code: 4524

On VanGami the template appears over your sheet through your phone camera — no printer needed. Trace it, cut, fold and glue. Below are all the steps in text.

What you’ll need

• 2 Letter sheets — office paper, 80 gsm (20 lb)
• Markers
• Pencil — and eraser
• Scissors — small
• Glue stick — or PVA glue
• Tape — clear, wide
• Toothpicks — 2 pcs — axles for the tops
• Glass — phone stand

Steps

Trace

1. Sturdy sheet from two. Apply glue stick over the whole surface of a sheet of printer paper, press a second sheet onto it, and smooth with your palm from the middle to the edges. You'll get a thick sheet — work on that one. Put it back in the same spot, edge to edge; don't move the phone.
2. Top 1: circle. Trace a circle with a diameter of 3⅛ in — you’ll cut along it.
3. Top 1: rainbow. Divide the circle into six sections with lines from the middle, as on the screen, and put a small cross right in the center — the axle will go there.
4. Top 2: circle. A second circle just the same, 3⅛ in.
5. Top 2: arcs. Draw three rings of arcs, as on the screen: four arcs on the outside, three in the middle, and two closer to the center. Add the small cross in the center too.

Color

6. Color: top 1. Color the sections around the circle: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. Color solidly, with no white gaps, and leave the little circle in the middle white.
7. Color: top 2. Color the outer arcs red, the middle ones blue, and the inner ones green. Everything else stays white.

Cut

8. Cut out: top 1. Cut out the circle along the solid line, turning the paper, not the scissors: the smoother the edge, the more evenly the top spins.
9. Cut out: top 2. Cut out the circle along the solid line, turning the paper, not the scissors: the smoother the edge, the more evenly the top spins.

Axle

10. Poke a hole in the center. Lay the first circle drawing side up on an eraser and poke a toothpick through the little cross in the middle — straight down, turning it slightly.
11. Tape rings. Slide the toothpick until ⅝ in sticks out underneath. Right under the circle, wrap a 1⅛–1⅝ in strip of tape around it, layer over layer — you’ll get a tight little ring. Make another one just like it above the circle: the circle is held in place and won’t slip.
12. Second top. Same with the second circle: poke through the cross, slide the toothpick ⅝ in down, and make tape rings below and above the circle.

Check

13. Spin the tops. Hold the top of the toothpick between your thumb and index finger, set the tip on the table, and give it a quick twist. The pattern will blend: the rainbow into one pale shade, the arcs into rings. Spin them at the same time with a friend: whoever’s top spins longer wins.

Done. The tops are done. Spin them at the same time on the count of “three”: whoever’s top spins longer wins.

Make it with your phone camera

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