The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago has recently expanded their online opportunities and interactive features. One of their latest additions is the "Simple Machines" feature, and here visitors will get to meet the curious robot "Twitch". The premise behind this game is that Twitch must complete a series of tasks to finish an important project. Using fun tools, keyboard motions, and...

This series of three interactive, multimedia activities introduce and demonstrate the properties of six simple machines. Specifically, the lessons show how levers, pulleys, inclined planes, screws, wheels and axles, and wedges can reduce the amount of work done by humans. After learning about the characteristics of each classification, users can try to find the simple machines that make up a lawn...