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Museum Educator-led Programs
Pre & Post Visit Resources
Playing Around with Simple Machines

Grades 3-5

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Program Description and Frameworks
Program Outline
Key Terms and Concepts
Classroom Activities
Print and Web Resources
Go to the Alexander Calder: An Artist at Play Gallery page

Click here for printable version of all resources listed above.

Discover how simple and complex machines make Alexander Calder's push and pull toys spin, bob and wobble. Students are challenged to play with Calder toy replicas and identify the mechanisms that make them work. Participants will also test unusual wheels to see what kind of motion they create. This program is most appropriate for classes who have already been introduced to the six simple machines. Location: Alexander Calder: An Artist at Play
Length: One hour
Grades: 3 - 5

Massachusetts Frameworks
Science and Technology/Engineering Strand 4

Visual Arts Strand: Standard 10

New York Standards
Math, Science and Technology Standard 1

Students ask 'why' questions in attempts to seek greater understanding concerning objects and events they have observed and heard about. Students question the explanations they hear from others and read about, seeking clarification and comparing them with their own observations and understandings. Students develop relationships among observations to construct descriptions of objects and events and to form their own tentative explanations of what they have observed.

Standard 4 Science Physical Setting

Standard 5 Technology

Introduction
Students are given a few moments to look around the gallery where Alexander Calder's original toy prototypes are displayed. The group discussion begins with the introduction of Alexander Calder as an artist who made moving sculptures (mobiles), as well as sculptural push and pull toys.

Defining Work
Through lively demonstrations with visual aids, the group defines work in its scientific context.

Simple Machines
A quick introduction to (or review of) the six simple machines: lever, wedge, ramp, wheel and axle, pulley, and screw. The lever and the wheel are identified by the group as the two machines that are at work in Calder's toys.

Lever Demonstration
Through discussion, demonstrations with props, and student participation, the group explores the following questions: What is the function of a lever? What happens when the fulcrum is in different places? What happens when you link levers together? What are some everyday ways that we use levers?

Wheels
The difference between the wheel and axle and the rotating wheel is introduced, and the importance of round wheels (reducing friction) is demonstrated.

Wheel Activity
The class will then be divided into 5 groups. Each group will receive a set of color-coded wheel-and-axle sets, containing a variety of wheel types that can be tested on a vehicle. Each group will have the challenge of finding the kind of wheels that will make their vehicle move in a certain way-either up-and-down or wobbly.

Discuss Results
Students share their findings about each kind of wheel and axle: ordinary wheel and axle, tilted wheels, centered eccentric wheels, and opposed eccentric wheels.

Crank
The crank mechanism is introduced and demonstrated. " Calder Toy Investigation Working in small groups, students will be given one Calder toy to investigate. The goal is to identify the mechanisms in their toy.

Conclusion
Groups share their findings.

• Simple and complex machines make work feel easier because they reduce the amount of force or distance needed to get work done.
• The fulcrum of a lever can be at any point along the lever (not just in the center). Levers can be found in many everyday objects like umbrellas, fold-out rulers, salad tongs, and our own bodies (arms and legs!).
• An axle can be attached to just one wheel or to more than one. Wheels make it easier to move things, because they reduce friction by minimizing the amount of surface area touching the ground. Not all wheel-and-axle sets are the same, and the differences can make them (or the vehicles they carry) move in different ways.
• By combining art skills and scientific knowledge one can create something that is fun and interesting.

Key Terms Used in the Program

• Work
  a force that makes an object move a distance.
• Force
  a push or a pull.
• Load
  the object that is moved when work is done.
• Simple machines
  six machines that have been used for thousands of years; the wedge, ramp (inclined plane), screw, wheel and axle, pulley, and lever. Combinations of more than one simple machine are called complex machines.
• Lever
  a rigid beam that can pivot at a fixed point. Examples: see saws, light switches, and windshield wipers. Two or more levers can be attached to each other. Examples: scissors and salad tongs.
• Fulcrum
  the point where a lever pivots.
• Inclined plane (ramp)
  a flat surface set at an angle, rather than being completely horizontal or vertical. Example: a slide.
• Screw
  an inclined plane spiraled around an axis or cylinder. Screws turn circular motion into linear (forward and backward) motion. Examples: a wood screw, a faucet, and a vice.
• Wedge
  two inclined planes placed back to back. When a force is applied to the wedge, it moves forward to act on the load. Examples: an ax blade and a wood splitter (maul).
• Rotating wheel
  a wheel that is not fixed to an axle, so that the wheel can spin while the axle remains still. Example: bicycle wheels.
• Wheel and axle
  a wheel that is fixed to an axle so that they rotate together. Examples: car wheels and steering wheel.
• Eccentric wheel
  a wheel and axle whose axle is not placed in the center of the wheel, but off-center.
• Friction
  a force that opposes or slows the motion of two surfaces that are in contact with each other. Rougher surfaces will produce greater friction, and smoother surfaces will produce less friction.
• Pulley
  a wheel that is free to turn on an axle that has a grooved rim that can hold a cord or a rope. Examples: clotheslines and theater curtain rigging use pulleys.

Simple Machine Sharing Circle
Ask students to find something at home that has one or more simple machines in it that they can bring in to school (or ask them to make a drawing of that machine to bring to school). Ask students to share their objects with the class. Challenge the class to identify the simple and complex machines in each object.

Toys in Motion
Ask students to bring in a toy with moving parts from home. Ask each student to share their toy with the class. Discuss the mechanisms that are involved. Write the name of each simple machine on a piece of paper and place in a hat or bowl. Pair students with a partner and ask each pair to pick one simple machine out of the bowl. Their job will be to imagine what their toys would be like if they added that simple machine to their toys. How would they move? What kind of work would the machines be doing? How would it change the toy? Would it have a different name?

Problem Solving Challenges
Students will have fun working on these problem solving challenges in small groups. The materials are everyday items and the directions are simple, but the outcomes are completely open-ended. Students may use simple machines to solve these challenges without even knowing what the simple machines are. Have each group do a different challenge, or give each group the same challenge and see how many different solutions your class comes up with. Click here for complete directions.

Fun with Levers: Catapult Activity
Challenge your students to build a cotton ball catapult out of a ruler, rubber bands, and plastic spoons. Students will have fun launching the cotton balls, and they will also strengthen their creativity and problem solving skills by being immersed in the process of engineering design. Click here for complete directions.

Fun With Wheels: Pull Toy Activity
Take inspiration from Alexander Calder's toys and challenge students to build a pull toy that wobbles, bounces, or glides. Students will have fun while reinforcing what they learned about wheels in the Museum's Playing Around with Simple Machines program. Click here for complete directions.

Simple Machine Scavenger Hunt
How many simple machines can you find in your everyday life? Write down the names of places and mechanisms where you have found simple machines indoors and outside. Click here for the hunt.

Assessment: Calder Toy Picture Book
Students create a picture book about the Alexander Calder toy exhibit that will introduce the exhibit to younger students who may come to see this exhibit in the future on a field trip or with their parents. Book contents might include a drawing of one of the toys, information about how it moves (ie., You pull it and it wobbles around), drawings of the six simple machines, information about the special kinds of wheels Calder used, and what students liked best about the exhibit. Partner with a class of students in a younger grade and have older students read the books together with younger students.

Use the Berkshire Athenaeum’s on-line catalogue to search for these print resources in Central/Western Massachusetts.

Print Materials For Students

Gibson, Gary. Pushing and Pulling (Science for Fun). Brookfield, CT: Copper Beech Books, 1995. Motion-related activities and projects for kids with step-by-step instructions and clear pictures. Each activity also includes a concept introduction and sections explaining "why it works," and suggesting further ideas for exploration.

Lafferty, Peter. Force & Motion (Eyewitness). New York: DK Publishing, 2000. Helpful and abundant photos and illustrations. Covers many physics fundamentals including simple machines and how they have been used throughout history.

Lauw, Darlene and Lim Cheng Puay. Motion (Science Alive!). New York: Crabtree Publishing, 2002. Activities and explanations introduce basic physics phenomena like friction, centripedal force, inertia, momentum, speed, and acceleration in kid-friendly language with helpful illustrations.

Levers and Pulleys (Foss Science Stories Series). Developed at Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley. Delta Education, 2000. Uses clear text, photos, and graphics to explain the workings of simple machines, including the three different classes of levers. Includes illustrations of real life uses of simple machines and questions for exploration.

Lipman, Jean. Alexander Calder and His Magical Mobiles. NY: Hudson Hills Publishing, 1981. Includes biographical information and an exploration of Calder's artistic process.

Macaulay, David. The New Way Things Work. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. Drawings and diagrams show the inner workings of things from the zipper to a saxophone.

Print Materials For Educators

Friedhoffer, Bob. Toying Around with Science. New York: Franklin Watts, 1995. Explains the inner workings and physics concepts involved in toys from water guns to yo-yos. It includes chapters on toys that are powered by magnetism, friction, air and water pressure, flywheels, vibration, levers, springs, and wind-up mechanisms.

Taylor, Beverly A.P. Exploring Energy with TOYS: Complete Lessons for Grades 4 - 8. New York: Terrific Science Press, 1998. Each lesson includes step-by-step instructions for activities, time and material requirements, key concepts, National Standards, procedures, extension ideas, and suggestions for further reading. The book also includes an overview of the pedagogical strategy used in the lessons, as well as a content review of concepts covered.

Taylor, Beverly A.P., James Poth and Dwight J. Portman. Teaching Physics with TOYS, Activities for Grades K - 9. New York: Terrific Science Press, 1995. Physics activities utilizing toys like Lego construction toys, roller skates, comeback toys, and yo-yos. Designed by college professors, elementary and middle school classroom teachers and science specialists.

Toler, Dane J. Energy, Machines and Motion. (Smithsonian/The National Academies: National Science Resources Center). North Carolina: Carolina Biological Supply Company, 2000. Includes lessons on friction, work, motors, pulleys, levers, mechanical advantage, calculating efficiency, motion and energy.

Tuchman, Phyllis. "Calder's Playful Genius." Smithsonian (May 2001), p. 82 - 92. About Calder's career and practices as an artist.

Web Materials for Students

How Stuff Works.
Explains the inner workings of telephones, toys, refrigerators, clocks, toilets and more.

Inventor'sToolbox: The Elements of Machines.
Developed by the Museum of Science, Boston for The Science Learning Network, 1997. Good images of the simple machines and some common complex machines like worm gears and the crank and rod. A challenge page asks you to identify the mechanisms in gadgets like a hand powered drill.

Web Materials for Educators

Franklin Institute's Spotlight on Simple Machines
Descriptions of the simple machines, links to other resources, and lesson plans and activities centered around simple and complex machines and motion at the elementary and middle school levels.

Work is Simple with Simple Machines.
A Project Smart 96 Unit created by Rhode Island Teachers with the goal of integrating technology into the science and math curricula. Includes activities, key terms, bibliography and links.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent Federal grant- making agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation of learners by helping libraries and museums serve their communities supports the Berkshire Museum.

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