Simple Machines
Christine Shupla, Yolanda Ballard, Joey Avila
(demonstrations by Claudia Bellard,
Dr. George Kramer, and Andy Shaner)
Lunar and Planetary Institute
Anne Holland, Space Science Institute
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Resources
Connect to the Discover Tech resources!
• Join the online community!
Get access to resources,
discussions and related
opportunities.
Contact: Anne Holland
[email protected]
• Visit the project website at
www.STARNetLibraries.org
Contact: Keliann LaConte
[email protected]
Explore Program
Hands-on activities
• Designed for libraries, camps, and out-of-school time
• Use inexpensive materials
• Highlight engineering and science concepts through
investigations, demos, crafts, and facilitated
conversations
Provides training and shares resources
www.lpi.usra.edu/education/explore/
www.facebook.com/groups/LPI.Explore/
[email protected]
Funded by NASA and NSF
Playful Building:
Simple Machines
Activity 1: Team Machine
Activity 2: Water Wedges
Activity 3: Levers at Play
Social!
For families or groups of children
Ages 5-13
Be Creative…Be an Engineer!
Activity :
TEAM MACHINE
Establish a pattern
1. Form a circle.
2. Say your name.
3. Toss the beanbag to someone across from you
(not next to you). Remember that person’s name.
4. Keep going until each person has caught the beanbag.
Keep the same order as you try to go even
faster!
The faster,
the better!
THINK
How can you decrease your time?
Draw
Explore
Talk
Write
BUILD, TEST, and DO IT AGAIN!
1. Pass the beanbag around the circle again — as quickly as
possible, but in the same order!
2. Say the name of the person who will catch the beanbag each
time you pass it.
3. Try to “beat” your shortest recorded time
Hints:
You may move around. You may stand or sit.
Playful Building:
Team Machine
•
•
Inclined planes make it
easier to move something up
or down.
An object can be
-
-
•
.
lifted straight up (shorter
distance)
or it can be pushed diagonally
up an inclined plane (uses
less energy)
Playful Building:
Team Machine
•
•
Inclined planes make it
easier to move something up
or down.
An object can be
-
-
•
lifted straight up (shorter
distance)
or it can be pushed diagonally
up an inclined plane (uses
less energy)
A screw is a type of inclined
plane that has been
wrapped into a spiral shape.
Activity :
WATER WEDGES
This kayak is an example of
a boat that has a wedgeshaped bow.
This paddleboat has
a squared front
edge.
BUILD
• Activity:
– Fold an origami boat!
TEST
A raft pushes water along
in front of itself.
A boat with a bow slices through the
water, allowing the boat to move
forward more easily.
Last Activity :
LEVERS AT PLAY
Credit: Lunar and Planetary Institute
Your Seesaw Design
THINK and BUILD
1. Pick the materials you think would be best for
building a seesaw.
2. Together, plan how you will use the materials to
Draw
build the seesaw.
Explore
Talk
Write
BUILD and TEST
3. Follow your plan to create your model seesaw.
DO IT AGAIN!
Modify your design — but change only one thing at a time!
IMPLEMENTATION
DISCUSSION
--THE INTERACTIVE PART!
Explore Further Resources
www.lpi.usra.edu/explore
HANDS-ON SCIENCE ACTIVITIES
Lunar exploration
The planets Earth, Jupiter, and Mars
Rockets
Health in space
STARNET Activities
clearinghouse.starnetlibraries.org/index.php
Thank you! Keep in Touch!
Please join us again in 30 minutes
for Playful Building: Design Challenges!
On April 12, join us for a webinar on Discover Earth!
STAR_Net Project
www.starnetlibraries.org
www.facebook.com/STARLibraries
twitter.com/STARNet_Project
Explore
Lunar and Planetary Institute
www.lpi.usra.edu/education/explore/
www.facebook.com/groups/LPI.Explore/
[email protected]