This one sounds complicated but it isn’t. Get out something long and flat…a board, a block…then roll some cars down it—inclined plane. (Use the language with your children too!)

We made a ‘Diego’ zip line by attaching a thick piece of plastic beading string (for kid sized beads) with clothes pins to the window frame at the high point and a magazine bucket at the low point. We attached the toy man with a elastic hair band that we threaded through the string before attaching it to the low point. Ta Da…..zip line. (A type of inclined plane.)

How about a pulley? Drape a jump rope over the back of a chair or couch. Sit behind the chair/couch and pull a doll or animal toy up to the top of the couch. You can use this same concept on your jungle gym or at the park and pull a bucket to the top of a platform.

Lever: Use the same board you used to roll the cars and put a small block under it in the middle. Now put a light small block on one end and stomp on the other…flying blocks. Try moving the block that is under the board closer to either end…what happens?

Explore using simple machines today!

Using stuffed animals and building blocks build a zoo. Then give zoo tours. One child can be the zoo director/docent and another child or parent can be the zoo guest. The zoo director/docent gives the tour of the zoo and explains the animals’ age, behavior, and other characteristics. Don’t know a lot about the animals? Make it up or look it up online. Either way have fun with your new zoo!

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