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How to Make a Spinner With a Paper Clip

Make Spinners for a Classroom
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A paper clip spinner is an easy way to decide games of chance. You can make your spinner with 4, 6, 8 or any number of evenly divided spaces. Alternately, you can make some outcomes more likely than others by drawing bigger and smaller regions on the spinner.

Straighten the paperclip out, then make a small loop on one end. You can use your fingers or needle-nosed pliers.

Draw a circle on a piece of cardboard and divide it up into sections. You can label each section with a number, color or instructions, depending on what sort of game you are using your spinner for.

Make a dot in the center of the circle. Put the paper clip on the paper with the loop directly in the center.

Push a metal fastener through the loop and the dot in the center of the circle. Open the ends under the piece of cardboard to secure it.

Spin the spinner a couple of times. It should turn smoothly and land on a random number every time. If it is stiff, remove it, enlarge the loop and attach it again.

Things You'll Need:

  • Cardboard
  • Paper clip
  • Needle-nosed pliers
  • Fastener
  • Pen
  • Pencil
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