(Describer) In a cartoon...

(child) Let's have fun with simple machines. Machines do all sorts of things.

(Describer) A plane flies.

They take us places, make our food,

(Describer) A machine fills boxes with cereal.

and build giant skyscrapers. They can't fly a plane or work in a factory or drive a big crane...yet. But kids like us play with simple machines every day.

(Describer) ..in a playground.

Some simple machines make it easier to move things. It's fun to ride a teeter-totter with a friend. Did you know they're also examples of a machine called a lever? A lever is a simple machine that can help you lift something you usually can't pick up, like my friend Sam. The part in the middle of the teeter-totter is called a fulcrum. It helps us lift each other as we pump our legs. A slide is an example of a simple machine called an inclined plane. An inclined plane slants up like this. It's much easier to push this heavy dinosaur up a slide than it would be to carry him up the stairs. And once we're at the top, it's simply more fun to slide down. My Big Wheel uses another simple machine called a wheel and axle. That's a wheel with a rod through the middle. When the smaller rod spins, the wheel spins too. If I put Rex on the ground and give him a shove, he doesn't move very far. But if we put him on my Big Wheel, away he goes. Hey, Rex, wait up!

(Describer) Titles:

(Describer) KET. Planet Nutshell.

Accessibility provided by the U.S. Department of Education.