Simple Machines Curriculum Guide - Chicago Children's Museum

7. Compare their product to the hardware screw and the screws in the books. Identify the parts ofthe pipe cleaner screw.● Home ConnectionHave students find an example of a screw at home. Students should draw and label it in theirscience journals.Day Two● Time Allotment50 minutes● MaterialsPipe CleanersPencilsWaterTowelsContainer with a screw top lidContainer with no lidContainer with plastic wrap● Advance PreparationFill buckets with water and get lots of towels.Select groups before hand.● VocabularyEfficientPreserve● Background InformationWhen thinking about how simple machines make work easier, we often think of moving heavythings, transporting big loads or lifting gigantic rocks. But, simple machines also help us topreserve vital resources such as food and water. If something is preserved, it is kept safely intact.If you look in your kitchen pantry and refrigerator you see screws everywhere in the form of lids.Screw-top lids help preserve food by sealing containers tightly which keeps air from getting in andkeeps the contents from spilling, evaporating or getting dirty. Food containers with tightly sealedlids can be saved, shipped, stacked and sometimes even dropped without damaging the contents.In this lesson the students will learn how the screw helps in the preserving of a basic element:water. The students will be hauling water using various types of containers. They will compareand contrast the containers and determine which vessel is the safest and most efficient way totransport and store water.The three types of containers should include one with a screw top lid, one with no lid and one with38 • Lesson 5: Screws