Lesson 2 of 84 · Simple Machines

Experiment⭐ 30 XP🛠️ Engineer Shop

Things That Roll

🧪Lab Brief #2

Simple Machines.

🎯 Your mission

Set it up. Test it. Be amazed.

⚡ The twist

Constraints make you more creative, not less.

🤯

Mind = Blown

🛠️ The first computer bug was a literal moth stuck inside a machine in 1947.

🔮

Make a hypothesis first

Before you test: how many tries until it works?

What You'll Learn

Things with wheels roll easily. That is why wagons have wheels!

Key Words

push
pull
fast

Materials Needed

spring scale
stopwatch
pencils
toy cars
ramps

Safety First

Do not mix unknown chemicals together.
Tie back long hair before starting the experiment.
Protect your work surface with newspaper or plastic.

Steps

Step 1 — Read

Talk about Simple Machines with a grown-up. What do you already know?

Step 2 — Do

Try pulling a wagon with one hand, then two hands. Which is easier?

Step 3 — Observe

What happened? Tell a grown-up what you noticed.

Step 4 — Record

Tell a grown-up your favorite part of the activity.

Check Your Understanding

Question 1

1 of 3

What do wheels help us do?

How sure are you going to be?😐 maybe

🌍

Where you see this in real life

Every bridge, building, and gadget you've ever used started with this.

🏆

Stretch Challenge

Try this in real life this week.

Find something that's broken at home and try to figure out *why* it broke.

👨‍👩‍👧

For the dinner table

“What's something around the house you'd redesign — and how?”

🎯

Next Smart Experiment

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

🪨Share card

Share this experiment

Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.

🖨️

Checkout complete lesson on Simple Machines for Pre-School

Get the full Simple Machines track as a printable PDF — all lessons, worksheets, and answer keys.

View in Shop

Done with science? Try something else

🎮Science Games 🔢Math 📖Flashcards 🖨️Print Worksheet 💻Coding 🛍️Shop 🎲I'm Bored