How Do You Lift a Lion?

After reading, How Do You Lift a Lion? by Robert E. Wells students were given a challenge to make a pulley to lift a "lion". The mission was to lift a lion at least three feet off the ground using only the following items.

• craft sticks
• tape
• string
• scissors
• pulley
• "lion" this could be anything you can lift

Questions to consider:

What is the load you are lifting?

What force is working against you?

What will you use for a platform?

How will you keep the "lion" on it?

What will do the work for you?

Creating and Testing 

Using a rock as a "lion"

Box design

"It works!"

"Look at my lion move!"

"Wait...is a pulley like a wheel and axle?"

Think like an Engineer!

Jessi from Sci Show Kids has a problem. Her back is really itchy and she can't reach it. Can you build a back scratcher to help her out? Your supplies are: ruler, pipe cleaner, plastic fork, tape, pencil, two stir sticks, and tacky putty. 

Students first drew a design of how they were going to engineer their back scratcher then made their pictures come to life with the supplies they were given. 

After the first attempt, most students noticed that they needed to try again because their first prototype either didn't work right or needed some adjusting.

The first attempt:

It works!

Class Back Scratchers!

Students learned that: 

• "Engineers start with a problem that needs to be solved." Student A
• "That you can build anything that you want to as long as you put your mind to it." Student A
• "That it doesn't always work on the first try. If it doesn't just improvise!" Student L