Wheel Away!
Overview
Listening to a story summary about the path taken by a runaway wheel, children create their own rotating mobiles from simple materials and observe the movements they make. Then they explore a Web page created to highlight the work of Vollis Simpson, a creator of large whirligig sculptures that move round and round in the breeze.
Objectives
Describe the motion of objects.
Create an object that moves.
Describe what happens to an object when it is pushed or pulled.
Materials
- Computer and modem
- Web-browsing software
- Printer
- Wheel Away! Activity worksheet (one copy for each child)
- For each child or pair of children: safety goggles, hanger, tape, string, safety scissors, small metal objects such as washers, bolts, nuts.
Steps
- Read the book summary to children and invite them to comment on the movement of the runaway wheel. What causes it to speed up and to slow down? What other things can they name that go around and around?
- Take children online to visit the From Windmills To Whirligigs Web site at http://www.smm.org/sln/vollis/connections/frontvollis.html. This Web site was created by the Science Museum of Minnesota to highlight connections between art and science.
- View and discuss the inventions of Vollis Simpson. If time allows, begin by reviewing the scrapbook of photos that introduces Mr. Simpson, his family, and his pets. Then use the grid map to navigate to some of the sculptures found in his yard. Don't miss these sculptures: Ice Cream Cone, Big Red One, Karen's Favorite, The Mules (shown on the map as The Horses). The QuickTime movies take time to load, so you may wish to do this in advance. While viewing the movies, invite children to describe the movements of each whirligig.
- Distribute the Wheel Away! Activity worksheet, and the materials listed on this activity sheet. Review the directions with children and have them make their own mobiles. Assign partners and have them explore ways to make their mobile move. Encourage them to share their observations.
Home Connection
Children and their families can learn more about mobiles and the artist who invented them by visiting the following Web sites that focus on Alexander Calder: the Calder Foundation web site at http://www.calder.org, and the National Gallery of Art: Alexander Calder Virtual Tour at http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/caldwel.htm_.
EXTENSION
Children can get ideas and pictorial directions for creating other simple toys that move by visiting the “Ideas and Activities” section of the Science Museum of Minnesota's Web site at http://www.smm.org. In the “Thinking Fountain,” children will find directions for a parachuting pinwheel and spinning top.
PRODUCT LINKS
Take your children onan Internet Field Trip to learn more about energy and motion. Visit Houghton Mifflin Science Discovery Works for a closer look at pushes and pulls.
