January 2010 Documents 

Build your own catapult.doc - these are instructions to build a catapult at home.  A quick and fun project - 10 minutes in length!

Levers and Pulleys Activity.doc

Heavy Lifting.doc

Catapult Activity.doc

Lego Activity Station.doc 

simple machines -post.doc

2009 Documents

Hands On Experiments for Simple Machines.pdf

Catapult Kit, Edmund Scientific ($24.95), Steve Spangler ($29.95)--better one is available from Thames & Cosmos.

Balancing Man, Steve Spangler ($12.95)--KRI: This is ok--hard for my 5 year old to do the balancing; might work better with older, and patient, children.

Pulley Discovery Kit,  Steve Spangler ($18.95)-purchased by a parent-KRI: I found this difficult to use and it only had minimal directions. I recommend that you keep looking for alternate kits.

SuperStructs Wacky Machines,  Steve Spangler ($59.95)--KRI: This is like TinkerToys, but made with plastic and including gears. Lots of fun, but maybe not better than TinkerToys.

Learning Resources: Mulitple kits for creating simple machines, price range from $35-$75.00

Super Balls, $5.95--KRI: I got this one at the Boy Scout shop (also available at Target)--really works: 'machine' is a polymer-demonstates potential and kinetic energy. (KRI); see Kit Testing for Physics for a 'review'.