Tin foil never looked so good! Caden Johnson’s truck, made of boxes, soup cans, and foil, demonstrates the wheel and axle.

    SIMPLY ORIGINAL MACHINES

Fourth grader Chloe Dutton shows off a
well-designed (and well-decorated) pulley.

Simple machines are single mechanical devices that help people work faster, easier, and more efficiently. They also help accomplish tasks like moving large heavy objects such as pianos or rolling objects uphill.

These machines are an important part of the world around us, and Onekama Elementary School fourth grade students recently had the opportunity to use their knowledge of simple machines to construct their own original creations.

The six kinds of simple machines are: pulley, screw, inclined plane, wheel and axle, wedge, and lever. With her fourth grade Science students, Onekama teacher Sally Catanese helped students bring their understanding of these machines to life by instructing them to design and build their own simple machines from household objects.
Students presented their machines to the class, explaining the purpose and type of machine, and the materials that were used to construct them. “It was really interesting to learn about how to make a machine,” said student Taylor Bennett. “It’s cool to think about what makes things work the way they do.”