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EngineeringScience

Broken Amusement Park

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Grades 3-560-75 minSource: Creative Dad Company

Kids are handed a set of broken simple-machine rides, like a lever that won't lift or a pulley that won't turn, and have to diagnose exactly what's wrong before fixing each one. It's a mechanically-minded scavenger hunt for troubleshooters.

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Prep: 10 minActivity: 45 min1 session~$2/groupOne table or a clear section of floorBeginner-friendly

Setup

Place common or recycled supplies for Broken Amusement Park on one work surface and choose a safe area for the test. Read the four activity directions aloud; drawings, paper models, and household substitutes may replace specialized materials, and no digital tool is required.

Activity

  1. Examine a broken ride's simple machine and predict which part is causing it to fail based on how it moves.
  2. Build a repaired version of the mechanism using the correct pulley, lever, or wheel arrangement.
  3. Test the repaired ride by running it several times, then redesign a part when it jams or still doesn't complete the motion correctly.
  4. Reopen the ride for a class demonstration, explaining what was broken and how the fix worked.

Done when: The group produces the Broken Amusement Park solution, completes the described test, makes the revision called for by the evidence, and supports its final explanation with an observed or measured result.

Materials

craft sticks, string, pulleys or spools, small wheels and axles, cardboard, tape, pre-built broken machine stations

Shown for the Quick Start version — switch tabs above to see what changes.

Disclosure: Materials links below go to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, Creative Dad Company earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Steps

  1. Examine a broken ride's simple machine and predict which part is causing it to fail based on how it moves.
  2. Build a repaired version of the mechanism using the correct pulley, lever, or wheel arrangement.
  3. Test the repaired ride by running it several times, then redesign a part when it jams or still doesn't complete the motion correctly.
  4. Reopen the ride for a class demonstration, explaining what was broken and how the fix worked.

Standards it satisfies

  • NGSS · 3-PS2-2

    Make observations and/or measurements of an object's motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion.