STEM Simple Machines

STEM Simple Machines offers a cross-section of important mechanical principles and their physical effects for teaching at secondary school level. But not simply in isolation, but - this is the premise of the construction kit - always in the context of concrete applications. Everyday technical functional areas are constructed, explored and encourage reflection.

Independently or in teams, students build simple and more sophisticated machines, automatons, tools and physical models. Process-related skills are promoted by solving problems, in-depth research and suggestions for creative changes to the models.

The fun of tinkering and the joy of perfectly functioning mechanics are just as important elements as the playful development of relevant technical terms using a variety of tasks and their solution examples.

The term "simple machines" (also referred to as force-saving, force-converting or labour-saving machines) covers tools or mechanical devices that are used to convert a force or optimize the effect of a force. Examples of simple machines are the rope, the lever, the pulley and the inclined plane (wedge), which occur in some combination in almost every power machine. [1]
They play a large, often unrecognized role in the world we live in. Wheelchair ramps, the screw thread, the lacing of a shoe or the door handle are examples of this. By dealing with simple machines, physics lessons can help pupils to perceive their environment differently and recognize the physical principles of simple machines as a pattern in the many everyday applications. [2]
Simple machines are a traditional topic in physics lessons that is included in many curricula at the beginning of lower secondary school. Occasionally, this topic is already recommended for elementary school science lessons. Dealing with simple machines is justified due to the high relevance to the real world and the culturally anchored knowledge associated with them. [3]
The following topics and technical terms are usually covered in combination using several very different application models from everyday life:

• Crank gears
• Cardan joints
• eccentric
• Parallel crank
• Gear drives
• Toggle lever mechanisms
• Counting
• Pawls
• Cable winches
• Pulley blocks
• Compensating gears
• Worm and spindle gears
• Forces and their measurement

The models, from bus windshield wipers to aircraft landing gear, from counters to vending machines, provide comprehensive insights into various mechanisms and the principles of physical action thanks to their simple design and easy-to-understand explanations.
The task sheets are formulated according to the educational plans in a competence-oriented manner. The aim is to control, reflect on and evaluate one's own thinking when solving problems and thus build up new knowledge. Problems should be recognized and problem-solving strategies developed and applied.

• Where are the constructive weaknesses in a structure?
• How can these be solved?
• Why are certain details solved this way and not differently?
• Are there alternatives? What would be the consequences?

In this way, real technical knowledge is imparted - in a playful and easy way, but in depth according to your wishes and needs. Spatial imagination, logical thinking, problem analysis, physical principles and an understanding of the technology used on a daily basis are trained and experienced in experiments carried out by the children themselves.

Simple machines were already systematically recorded in antiquity in a work by Heron of Alexandria, a Greek mathematician and engineer from the first century AD. Alongside the wheel, pulley, lever and wedge, Heron listed the screw. Forgotten in the Middle Ages, his text was rediscovered in an Arabic translation during the Renaissance. The engineers of that era added the inclined plane to the simple machines. What they have in common is that they are the basic building blocks of all more complex machine mechanics - today, however, we would rather call them machine elements. They seem almost trivial in the information age. And yet they are the foundation on which technical civilization was built.