For my project I wanted to make something that simultaneously has vertical and rotational motion. I first created a frame made of embroidery hoops and rubber bands that would be the object to fall/rotate, then struggled a bit to think about how to actually achieve rotational motion while the frame is falling.

I ended up creating a configuration like so:

This configuration does not spin while the frame is moving vertically. I thought that by twisting the centerpiece that the string would wind up around the pegs and then when I released it at the top that the frame would spin but this didn’t work.

I also tried separating out the strings instead of bunching them together through a single hole, and then twisting the centerpiece to see if I could get rotational motion, which also didn’t work.

I think maybe I can try coming up with something that twists the string itself? I noticed that if I just twisted the bunch of strings, I could get the whole piece to rotate like I wanted. Combine this with a pulley, and hopefully the motion will look nicer.