4th Graders PLAY with Water!
by Kim Swanson
April 02, 2009
People have used water to power machines for over 2000 years! One of the ways they used water was to power waterwheels. Waterwheels were first used to turn stones that ground grain into flour. Later they were used to power sawmills. Today water flowing through dams turns devices called turbines that create electricity. Recently, the fourth graders in Mrs. Swanson's classroom were challenged to create a simple waterwheel that could lift a load. They were given a plastic basin/tub, a dowel stick, a plastic straw, binder clips, connectable disks, and string. If the groups of students were successful, their waterwheel would be able to lift the load (binder clip) to the edge of the basin. The students used syringes full of water to spray the water against the disks (which represented the blades of the waterwheel). The fewer syringes full of water needed to lift the load, meant a more efficient design! This finale to our study of water proved to be challenging, frustrating at times, and very FUN! We definitely enjoyed the splashing and spraying as we learned about the practical ways that water can be used as a source of power.
