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How to Make a Simple Machine With Dixie Cups

Dixie cups aren't just for holding fruit punch; you and the kids can also use them to construct simple machines. A simple machine is any tool used to perform work and make that work easier. Levers, for instance, make it easier to lift things from one level to another by using them as you would a seesaw. Create your own simple machine lever with a few Dixie cups to hold the load being carried through the levels.

Things You'll Need

Poster tack
Wooden thread spool (empty)
Paint stirring stick
Dixie cups
Marbles
Coins (dimes, pennies, quarters, etc.)

Instructions

- 1
  Warm and knead a piece of poster tack between your fingers. Press it to one side of an empty wooden thread spool. Press the spool, tack side down, onto a flat surface.
- 2
  Press a piece of poster tack onto either end of a paint stirring stick and place a Dixie cup on either end of the stick. The tack should keep the cups in place.
- 3
  Center the stirring stick on the wooden spool with the cups pointing upward. Place marbles in one of the cups; that side of the Dixie cup lever should go down.
- 4
  Drop different kinds of coins into the other cup. Count how many of each coin you need to lift up one marble. Combine coins to see if you can use fewer coins of different weights to lift the marble.

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