Simple Machines

What would you do with blocks, string, a pulley and a spring loaded scale?

If you were a seventh age student, you'd create a simple machine!

How? Check out their inventions below!

Students examine their materials before building begins:

Students measure the mass of their blocks they tied with string:

Students take their time attaching the pulley to string and blocks

Our simple machines were a success: after using our pulley systems, the blocks moved easily up the edge of the table (and our spring-loaded scales proved it!)

Our girls are quite the builders!!

Postion, Motion and Balance

Our 7th agers are now tackling position, motion and balance. In no time at all they were demonstrating how position could impact balance and create or prevent motion! We had a great time manipulating the position of channels to impact the balance and motion of the marbles. What great scientists!

Check out this video of the girls working hard, it takes a few tries but they stick with it and are successful!! Great job, girls!

Learning about Gases!

Our classes worked with balloons to learn a little more about our last state of matter: Gas. We demonstrated that air does have mass (a balloon without air weighs 2.5 grams whereas a balloon with air weights 3.0 grams!)

We also demonstrated that air molecules are impacted by cooling or heating, as we learned last class! We measured the circumference of a balloon, and then placed it out in freezing temperatures...Our balloon decreased 2 centimeters in 7 minutes! WOW!