Do it now!

A Pocket Pinwheel

Anitha Bennett

Do equations scare you? Are your numeral tables jumbled all the time? What about complicated physics formulae? For all the things that confuse you, here’s a smart pocket pinwheel reminder that you can make in a jiffy to enable you to tackle those ‘forget-tables’!

Things needed

Split-pin brass paper fastener
Sheets of thick chart paper (of different colours)
Scissors
Scale
Pencil

How to make it

Cut out 2 circles of diameter 7 inches. Remember, the stiffer the paper, the sturdier your pinwheel.
Make a list of formulae or other things to remember for one subject, e.g. science.
If you have eight formulae you need to memorise, divide the first circle into eight equal sections.
Write the formulae clearly on each section.
On the second circle, draw a circle with a radius of 1 cm from the centre. Now trace one section of the first circle and cut it out, leaving the central circle intact.
Fasten the two circles on top of each other by pushing the drawing pin exactly into the centre.
Fasten the pin at the back. Your two wheels should now be able rotate freely.
You can use different colour pencils to shade each section or add a small cartoon sticker to each section. Keep rotating to discover more!

It’s fun to use this handy tool and show it to your friends. Hang it up with a satin ribbon in your room or slip it into your school bag. Make more pinwheels, one for each subject.

NB. Another version of this pinwheel is to make the second circle a smaller one, without the slit, and divide that also into sections. This way, you’ll have a whole lot of stuff in one pinwheel itself.

Make spinwheels for your friends. Or make a big one to leave in class for everyone to use!

Day for others

Adapa Karthik is a student with a difference. He was awarded with a Harvard University research scholarship, but decided to reject it to write the civil services exam. His difficult decision paid off — he topped the civil services exam!