simple machine centers

This week, our class and Mrs. Nichols class will be working in centers that focus on simple machines and how they make work easier.

We tried to have a race between a real wheel barrow and a kid-made wheel barrow and were surprised when the kid-made wheel barrow won, until we realized that the real wheel barrow had a flat tire! Oops!

The lego groups has to build models of simple machines by following the directions on the cards.

This group is working on building a pulley that will lift a heavy rock.

Who knew that racing cars had anything to do with inclined planes?! The kids had a lot of fun experimenting with the slope of the wood and how it affects the speed of the car.

This group built a machine out of PVC pipes.

This group experimented with levers. They used levers to lift each other up. They had fun placing the fulcrum in different spots.

This group experimented with wedges (nails) and levers (hammer claws).

This group of kids used different kinds of screw drivers to put screws into wood.

Stay tuned for more fun and learning!