Simple Machines Gallery
Explore balls and ramps, gears and cogs, inclined planes, screws, and pulleys to see and feel how these simple machines use mechanical advantage to accomplish a task.
In the Simple Machines Gallery you will find printed copies of our Exploration Learning Guide for parents and caregivers, a resource of prompts and suggestions to support exploration of the gallery's STEAM topic with your child. You can also review and print the Guide here in one of eight languages prior to your visit, and/or after your visit for ideas for post-visit activities and conversations that reinforce learning:
In This Exhibit
Gear Wall
Set things in motion with this magnetic wall. Create a gear train and watch special gears turn and spin in different directions.
Tinker Tracks
Create elaborate chain reactions, ball runs, pathways, and jumps with magnetic tracks and tubes. Race with another track or design creative pathways that travel around the corner connecting two walls.
Rigamajig
Connect pieces such as wheels and axles, levers, inclined planes, screws, wedges, pulleys, and more to create your own simple and complex machines.