Wheels and axles

Ages 3 to 5 Read and do together · about 20 minutes

Read together

A wheel turns around an axle.

Wheels help things roll.

Do it

1. Push a heavy box along the floor. Now put it on a few round markers or large lids and push again. Is it easier?
2. Make a toy cart: a small box, two straws as axles, and four big cardboard circles or large caps as wheels.
3. Push the cart. Do the wheels turn? What happens if one wheel is stuck?
4. Look for wheels around the home: a chair, a toy car, a bicycle.

Talk about it

• Why do wheels help?
• What would happen with square wheels?

For the grown-up

A wheel and axle lets things roll instead of drag, which is easier. This is a good way to see that friction slows things that slide.

Mark as done

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Where this comes from

• NGSS Lead States, Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States (National Academies Press, 2013), performance expectation K-PS2-1 (pushes and pulls)
• Exploratorium (San Francisco), hands-on science activities on wheels and friction

Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.