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The Mardi Gras Float kit laid out on a classroom table: the printed box, the finished float with its solar panels, the instruction manual open to a build spread, and the parts set out below them, including two solar panels, laser-cut wooden sheets, four wheels, gears, a motor, axles, a screwdriver and a sheet of decorative wraps.
The finished float, a two-deck wooden cart on four rubber wheels, its upper deck reading Happy Mardi Gras and its lower deck wrapped in purple, green and gold jesters, masks and crowns, with two solar panels mounted on the roof and wired down to the motor.
The Mardi Gras Float box, printed STEM EDUCATION SERIES and BUILD IT YOURSELF MARDI GRAS FLOAT over a blue burst, with the built float pictured on the front, an AGES 10+ flash and four skill icons reading Critical Thinking, Circuitry, Engineering and Technology.
The instruction manual, its cover standing behind an open spread: a page of Mardi Gras history beside a photograph of a parade-goer holding a handful of beads, and a Let's Build It page with a safety note, background information and the first three illustrated build steps.

STEM Education Series

Solar Mardi Gras Float Kit

$15.00

Laissez les bons temps rouler! Let the good times roll! This festive float rolls on sunshine, with two solar panels on the roof that power a motor below. Assemble the two-deck float, wire the panels to the motor, then decorate it with colorful Mardi Gras wraps and stickers. Carry it into the sun and watch it roll forward on its own, with no batteries needed. It is a celebration of creativity and engineering, showing how sunlight can be turned into motion.

Amount
Amount: Individual

The Big Idea

Solar energy can power motion.

Ages
10+Adult supervision required.
  • Renewable Energy
  • Circuitry
  • Mechanical Design
  • Engineering

Safety

  • Contains small parts. Not suitable for children under 3.
  • Adult supervision required.
The finished float, a two-deck wooden cart on four rubber wheels, its upper deck reading Happy Mardi Gras and its lower deck wrapped in purple, green and gold jesters, masks and crowns, with two solar panels mounted on the roof and wired down to the motor.

What’s in the Kit

  • All materials to build and decorate one Solar Mardi Gras Float
  • Full color, step-by-step instructions

What you add

Nothing. Every material needed to build and decorate the float comes in the kit.

Real-world connection

Who Builds Real Parade Floats?

Large parade floats are true feats of art and engineering. Teams of carpenters, welders, electricians, sculptors, and artists work together to build each one, combining sturdy frames and wheeled bases with towering, hand-painted designs. Builders have to make sure every float can carry its weight, stay balanced, and fit safely along the parade route. This kit captures that same blend of art and engineering in a two-deck float powered entirely by the sun.

A two-deck Mardi Gras parade float passing a crowd with their hands in the air. Costumed, masked riders line both decks throwing beads; the side panels are airbrushed with pink lotus flowers and green scrollwork over pale blue, a green fringe skirt hides the trailer below, and a turquoise sculpted baboon figure taller than the riders sits at the back end.
Rows of finished Mardi Gras floats lined up across a classroom worktable, each one reading Happy Mardi Gras on its upper deck with solar panels on the roof, beads spilled across the table and heaped in a bin at the edge, and STEM chalked on the board behind.

For classrooms

The Solar Mardi Gras Float Kit is a great fit for classrooms, after-school programs, and camps. Each kit builds one float and arrives individually packaged with all materials and instructions included.

For best results, run the floats outdoors in direct sunlight.

Purchasing for your school or program? Request a quote.

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