Motion Machine - Science Museum of Minnesota


	Motion Machine

Design a machine that makes a motion.
Use the materials left over from the holiday season to create and build a machine that makes at least one motion. Then, present your machine, show how it works, and give a demonstration.
This was difficult for the students because it was the first time they actually had to build what they had designed. Many of the designs started out as very complex creations and soon the students realized that what they had designed was too difficult for them to build. They revised their creations many times and in some cases the final result looked little like the original. - Karen T.

Final Solutions

Click on the picture to find out more about the machine.

Gymnastic Bar	Dog Bone Delivery Car	Can Scruncher
Wind-up Plane	Cat Toy	Mountain Lift
Pump Fan	Head Guy	Egg Cracker
Roller Car		Wind-up Toy

Motion Machines is a project developed by Karen Thimmesch for her 4th grade students. See her Students as Designers cluster for more project ideas.

That makes me think . . . (11k)

What other machines could you build out of stuff that's just sitting around your house? Try to build a motion machine to feed your pet. A rubber band is nifty machine part. Be good to yourself; start simple.

Constructions for Children

Make a machine for your pet.

Create a wind-blown work of art

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Connected together

Index of ideas

Constructions for Children
Make a machine for your pet.
Create a wind-blown work of art