Looking at how ideas about machines have changed over time helps children develop their understanding of how science works as well as enabling them to see the relevance of their learning in real world situations. Machines are devices that change the direction or size of a force. There are six simple machines - wheels (including gears and rollers); inclined planes (ramps); wedges; levers; screws; and pulleys - and this activity helps children to explore a very small sample of significant ideas and discoveries that use machines. Taking time to think about how our ideas about science have changed over time provides many opportunities for children to develop their science capital.
|Scientific ideas over time: simple machines (96.17 KB)|