Tin train

The materials used to make this train are, on the one hand, food tins and cans and bottle tops, and, on the other, wood, wire and cane. The locomotive is a can and the wagons are tins, the wheels are bottle tops on a wire axle, and the locomotive is raised on a piece of wood with a funnel made from cane. The train is coupled together with wire.

Children enjoyed making and then playing with it, using their imagination. It was as long as the number of tins available allowed, although shorter trains were more manageable.

The learning process involved in making a train encompasses many skills: design, dexterity, style and the use of different materials. It is another completely sustainable toy which, as it reuses material, teaches the 3 Ecological «Rs» at the same time: Reuse—the tins—, Reduce—less rubbish—and recycle—recovering wire.