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Kids Design and Make
- Flip Toys
- Make a Belt-Drive Car
- Money Alarm
- Sara and Lola's Wind-up
- Slide Switch and a Buzzer
- Slippery Slide
- Sub-systems for an Electric Car
- Wind-Up Toy
STEM at Home
- Introduction
- Parachute Materials
- Assembling parachutes
- Materials
- How to make it
- Launch your parachute
- How it works
- Troubleshooting
- How it works
- Experiments
- Customizing
about_us
- Who We Are
Stuff That Works
- Introductory Workshop
- Brainstorming Tape
- Chairs Up and Down
- Designed Environments
- Half-day workshops
- Mechanisms & Other Systems
- Hook Mania
- Science & Technology of Tape
- Scavenger Hunt for Tape
- Signs, Symbols & Codes
- Packaging Bag-handle types
- Advanced Mechanisms
- How Shopping Bags Fail
- introduction
- Design Challenges
- Mapping
- Answer Guide
- Mechanimations
- Signs & Symbols
- MechAnimations
- What is the best way to apply tape?
- Which tape is best?
- Packaging and Other Structures
- Guide for professional developers
Energy Systems
- 1 What Is a Wind-up?
- 1. How Can You Get It to Move?
- 1. Light & Sound
- 1. Turn a Motor On
- A Better Way to Connect Wires to a Battery
- A Variety of Car Bodies
- Attach a Propeller to a Motor
- Axle Does Not Turn
- Axles are Askew
- Bad Connection: Battery
- Bad Connections at Motor
- Bad Connections at Switch
- Bad Motor
- Balloon Car Tips Over
- Balloon Doesn't Blow the Right Way
- Balloon Doesn't Hold Air
- Balloon is too Small
- Battery Is Dead
- Bushing Rim Is Not High Enough
- Can one switch control several circuits?
- Car Curves; Axles not Parallel
- Car Goes Backward
- Car is Slow: Axle Warped
- Car is Slow: Wheel Rubbing
- Car Is too Heavy
- Car Is Too Heavy
- Car Tips Over
- Car turns: axles not parallel
- Conservation of Energy
- Dead Battery
- Direct Drive Troubleshooting Table
- Direction of Rotation
- Discussing Two Issues
- Drive Wheel Turns But Does Not Move Car
- Electricity Concepts
- Energy Relationships
- Four Wheel Wind-ups
- Friction and the Balloon Car
- Friction and the Wind-up
- Friction: Good and Bad
- How a Motor Can Drive a Pulley
- How do you Attach the Balloon?
- How do you make wheels turn?
- How Does a Direct-drive Car Work?
- How to Add a Switch
- How to Connect Wires to a Battery
- How to Make a 3-Wheel Belt-drive Car
- How to Make a 4-Wheel Belt-drive Car
- How to Make a Good Connection
- How to Make a Horn Circuit
- How to Make a Light Circuit
- How to Make a Reversing Switch
- Light a LED or sound a buzzer
- Make a Car
- Make a Car
- Make a Friction-Drive Car
- Make a large wheel wind-up
- Make a Ramp
- Make a small wheel wind-up
- Make a switch
- Make a Troubleshooting Chart
- Make a Unicycle
- Make a wind-up with one lid
- Merry-go-around Wind-up
- Motor is Always on
- Motor Is Bad
- Motor Not Secure, Pulleys Not Aligned
- Motor Turns, But Drive-Wheel Does Not
- Moving Picture Wind-ups
- Nothing turns - stick, paper clip or wind-up: rubber band is too short
- Parts You Can Use
- Penguin Race Toy
- Plan an Experiment
- Practice Using Standard Symbols
- Propeller Car: Cardboard Body
- Propeller Car: Cube Body
- Propeller Hits Car Body
- Roll-back Wind-ups
- Rubber Band Rubs Against Body
- Rubber Band Too Loose
- Rubber Band Too Tight
- Sample of an Issue, Cause, Fix Table
- Spool Not Touching Ground
- Spool Slips on Ground
- Standard Symbols
- Straw Points to the Side
- Switch hunt results
- Switch Works the Wrong Way
- Test a Car
- The paper clip turns
- The wind-up goes far but slow
- The wind-up spins out: rubber band too thick or wheels too small
- The wind-up turns off the ground, but not on the ground: not wound enough
- The wind-up won’t go straight
- The wind-up won’t stay together
- This is Page 1986
- Too Much Friction
- Tricycles
- Troubleshooting Table
- Types of Switches
- What batteries can be used with a motor?
- What kind of circuits, series or parallel?
- What Switches Do and Where They Go
- Wheel and Motor Tip When Car Is on the Ground
- Wheel Spins When Off the Ground, But Does Not Drive the Car
- Wheels Fall Off the Axle
- Wheels turn, then stop
- Why big wheels go far and small wheels go fast
- Wind-up Energy
- Wind-up Experiments
- 2 Make a a Wind-up
- 2. Make a Switch
- 2. Make a Switch
- 2. Playground
- 3 Troubleshoot Wind-ups
- 3. Circuit Diagrams
- 3. Circuit Diagrams
- 3. Ramps and Sleds
- 4 Make a 2nd Wind-up
- 4. Let's Roll
- 4. Motors
- 4. Surfaces and Friction
- 5 Energy and Wind-ups
- 5. Make A Direct-Drive or Friction Drive Car
- 5. Make a Simple ElectroCity
- 5. Sled Redesign
- 6 Experiment on ![Toy Making ](/images/blog/toy-thumbnail.jpg) Wheel size: Preparations
- 6. Hidden Switches
- 6. Let's Roll
- 6. Troubleshooting a Direct-drive or Friction-drive Car
- 7 Experiment on Wheel Size
- 7. How to Build a Direct-drive or a Friction-drive Car
- 7. Make A Car
- 7. Vibrators and Noisemakers
- 8 Experiment with Rubber Band
- 8. A Test Drive
- 8. Make a Belt-drive or Propeller-drive Car
- 8. Things that Glow in the Dark
- 9 Redesign and Decorate Wind-Ups
- 9. Car Facts
- 9. Infrared Remotes
- 9. Troubleshooting and Redesign of Belt-drive & Propeller-drive Cars
- 10 Continue the Redesign
- 10. Design an ElectroFying ElectroCity
- 10. Improve your Ride: Add a Horn & Lights
- 10. Write a How-to Book
- 11 How to Make My Wind-Up
- 11. Gearing up for the Auto Show
- 11. Improve Your Ride
- 11. Make an ElectroFying ElectroCity
- 12 The Auto Show
- 12. Present Your Electrocity
- 12. The Auto Show
- 12. The Auto Show
- 13. The Digital Multimeter
- How Could a Balloon Power a Car?
- Make a Balloon Car
- Troubleshooting Balloon Cars
- How to Build a Balloon Car
- STEM at Home: Flip Toys
Force and Motion
- 1. Identifying and Sorting Mechanisms
- 1. Looking Closely at Pop-ups
- 1. What Can You Make?
- Add a Switch to a Circuit
- Adding a handle
- Analysis of Data
- Analyze a Mechanism for Redesign
- Analyzing student observations
- Angle
- Assemble force machine
- Assemble it unfolded
- Assemble the 3rd class Ratio Machine
- Assembling "High & Low"
- Assembling "Near & Far"
- Asymmetric Angle-folds
- Base size
- Book won't Close
- Buckling
- Butterfly Net MechAnimation
- Challenges for Mystery Mechanisms
- Changes to make in procedure
- Changes to make in the set-up
- Children Explain their Mech-a-Block Constructions
- Circuit Diagram Charts
- Circuit diagrams for an infrared remote
- Circuit symbol for a motor
- Circuit Symbols
- Combining Mechanisms Worksheet
- Communication Systems
- Compare “same” and “opposite” mechanisms
- Compare “same” and “opposite” mechanisms
- Compare materials chart
- Conducting Clean-up
- Constructions that do not meet challenge
- Constructions that do not meet challenge
- Contribute
- Converting structures to mechanisms
- Crooked Jaws
- Curved Flags
- Data Experiment D
- Data Experiment E
- Demonstrating complex pop-ups
- Detecting that transmitter is on
- Developing Ideas
- Directions of input and output and relative positions of fixed and floating pivots
- Discovering "High & Low"
- Discovering "Near & Far"
- Discovering that a Circuit is not designed correctly
- Distances and directions
- Distributing Materials
- Dog with Bone
- Doing Experiment A
- Doing Experiments A and B
- Draw a 2nd Output
- Drawing a mechanism: identifying pivots
- Drawing a mechanism: proportions
- Drawing Distances
- Drawing input paths
- Drawings of a mechanism: what is included
- Drawings of four mechanisms
- Drawings of four mechanisms
- ElectroCity Ideas
- Errors in measurement
- Experiment A: Force and Distance
- Experiment D
- Experiment E
- Experiments A and B
- Experiments B and C: Redesign Input Links
- Experiments C and D
- Experiments with Batteries and Motors
- Finding an error in wiring using a circuit diagram
- Fixed and floating pivots
- Floating Pivot
- Force and buckling explorations
- Four examples of mechanisms
- Four examples of mechanisms
- Friction and the Lever Arm: Fixed pivot loose
- Friction and the Lever Arm: Hanger for rubber band
- Friction and the Lever Arm: Wing nut tight
- From drawing to pegboard plan
- From pegboard to cardboard
- Getting started on Experiment A
- Hammer MechAnimation
- Hammer MechAnimation
- Hard to Assemble
- How Long Can the Flag Be?
- How Long Can the Parallel-fold Be?
- How much Current does it Take?
- How the sorting game is played
- How the Twister Works
- How to assemble the H
- How to distinguish among structures and mechanisms
- How to Draw a Wind-up
- How to Look at Mechanisms
- How to Make a See-thru Book
- How to meet the challenge
- How to meet the challenge
- How to use the Ratio Machine
- Identifying structures and mechanisms
- Important share points
- Input Arm Length
- Inputs, outputs and pivots
- Inside-out Monster
- Introducing MechAnimations
- Is there a Third Category?
- Keeping it inside the book
- Learning About LEDs
- Lever categories
- Lines in Space
- Link connected at wrong place
- LInks not horizontal
- Locating the page positions
- Looking at Data
- Magnetic Proximity Switches
- Make a AA battery holder
- Make a Hand-waver
- Make a Monster
- Make a Peek-a-boo
- Make a Stair-step
- Make a Twister
- Make a Wind-up
- Make and draw one output
- Makes New Hinges
- Making Neat Pop-ups
- Making the 3rd class ratio machine
- Manufactured Mechanisms
- Marker
- Measurement Issues
- Measuring A, B, C, & D
- Mirrors
- Mouth with Teeth
- Mouth with Tongue
- Nothing is controlled
- Nothing moves
- Nothing moves
- Observations of mechanisms
- Obstacles
- One link hits the other back and forth
- One link sometimes turns the other
- Outcome
- Outcomes of the discussion
- Outputs share floating pivots
- Outputs with their own floating pivots
- Parallel Folds and Angle Folds
- Path traveled by end of lever
- Path traveled by end of lever
- Paths with a rope
- Paths with a rope
- Peek-a-boo vs Hand-waver
- Peek-a-Boo vs Hand-Waver System Diagrams
- Pop-up Parts and Principles
- Pop-up Stays down
- Pop-up Sticks out
- Pop-ups that Lie Flat
- Preparing the Template
- Print directions for Force machine
- Productive questions
- Range
- Review of Lesson 8
- Same and opposite mechanisms
- Same and opposite mechanisms
- Sample Hidden Switches
- Sample Switches
- Science Notebook
- Science Notebook
- Science notebook 1
- Science Notebook Lesson 8
- Science notebook suggestions 2
- Science Notebooks
- Science, math and engineering categories
- Scissors: A Lever System
- Scissors: Force and Distance
- Scissors: Measuring Distances
- Scissors: Mechanical Advantage
- Seeing patterns in data
- Series and Parallel Circuits
- Series and Parallel Connections
- Set up for drawing input paths
- Set up for drawing input paths
- Set up for drawing input paths
- Set-up for Experiment D
- Set-up for Experiment E
- Setting up the DMM
- Sorting Mechanisms
- Sources of Infrared
- Special shapes allow movement in other directions 2
- Stair-step in Edge View
- Starting and ending points are carelessly marked
- Strip is not Perpendicular
- Stronger materials
- Suggestions for Experiment D
- Suggestions for student science notebooks
- Switch seems to work backwards
- Symbols for fixed pivots and floating pivots
- Systems
- Systems and sub-systems
- Systems and sub-systems
- Test the Mechanism
- Test the Mechanism
- Testing a Battery
- Testing a battery connection
- Testing a switch
- The Angle-fold Computer
- The Angle-fold Template
- The Bird
- The end of the lever does not move enough
- The end of the lever moves in the wrong direction
- The Forces Revealed
- The Four Hinges
- The Four Link Lengths
- The input moves around too much
- The input moves around too much
- The link pushes, but does not pull the other
- The Turtle
- Things Come Apart
- Things Fall Apart
- Too much Tape
- Troubleshooting: Base size
- Troubleshooting: From Pegboard to Cardboard
- Troubleshooting: Interfering Fasteners
- Troubleshooting: Outputs interfere with each other
- Troubleshooting: Stronger Materials
- Turning on a buzzer
- Twister Comes Apart
- Two batteries in series
- Two Kinds of Pop-up
- Two outputs per link
- Two Pieces of Paper
- Two single outputs to one 2-output
- Two Swans Kissing
- Use Different Categories
- Using an ultraviolet LED
- Using fasteners, strips and bases
- Using the H
- Variables in the Force Machine
- Ways to add an output
- What Is an experiment?
- What is Troubleshooting?
- What the Twister can do
- What will it Look Like?
- When does it Choose B and C and Make A + B = C + D?
- When students don't understand the experiment
- Where is the Angle Fold?
- Where is the Back & Forth Motion of the Angle-fold?
- Where it Hides
- Where will it Make the Fold?
- Which Way will it Move
- Why does A + B = C + D?
- Will it Respect my Fold?
- Windshield Wiper Mechanism
- Won't Pop up
- Won't Pop up
- Won't Stand up or Won't Lie Flat
- Worksheet Answer Guide
- Wrong Strip Length
- 2. Make a Pop-up
- 2. Making Mechanisms
- 2. Structures and Mechanisms
- 3. A Mechanism with an Input that Controls It
- 3. Making One Link Control Another
- 3. The Shape of a Pop-up
- 4. Finding Patterns in the Folds
- 4. Mechanism Diagrams
- 4. Representing Mechanisms
- 5. Directions of Motion
- 5. Modeling Mechanisms
- 5. The Pop-up Computer
- 6. Combining Mechanisms
- 6. Modeling Manufactured Mechanisms
- 6. Where Does it Hide?
- 7. Movement Around a Pivot
- 7. Stair-step Pop-ups
- 7. Which Way Will It Go?
- 8. How much do outputs move?
- 8. How they Move
- 8. How to get a Better Ride
- 9. Make an Angle-fold Pop-up
- 9. Pegboard Models for MechAnimations
- 10. Making a MechAnimation from a Pegboard Model
- 10. The Monster and the Inside-out Monster
- 11. Redesigning MechAnimations
- 11. The Peek-a-Boo and the Hand-waver
- 12. Presenting Mechanimations
- 12. The Twister