Please fill out the following template for non-traditional activities that you led in the classroom. Save it by the activity name in the EEOP Folder under “STOMP” and then “SPRING 2008 Classrooms.”

Activity Name: Dinosaur Tails

STOMPer Names: Mike Mogenson Amanda Stockwell

Purpose of Activity: Learn about pistons and translating rotational motion into linear motion.

Grade Level: 2nd

Activity Length: One class period.

Materials: Simple machines kit

Preparation: Making a worksheet and constructing a sample tail

Procedure/Instructions: Kids are challenged to build a sturdy wall with a pulley and a lego beam lever attached. A piston made out of a beam connects the pulley to one end of the lever so when the pulley is rotated the beam wags up and down.

Extension Ideas: Motorize pulley, connect two tails to one pulley to create dinosaur jaws.

End of Activity Discussion Questions:

How does the diameter of pulley wheel/distance between beam pivot and piston connection change the motion of the waging tail.