Lego Engineering

​Introduces students to basic concepts of building strong Lego structures and using lever, pulleys, and gears to gain a mechanical advantage.
(grades 2-3)

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Structures

• Triangular shapes are rigid
• Rectangular shapes are not rigid
• Rectangular shapes can be strengthened (by adding a cross-brace) to make them rigid.
• ​Pushing (compression) forces and pulling (tension) forces act on shapes differently.

Levers

• The fulcrum, the effort, and the load can be arranged to increase force or to decrease movement.
• To raise a load with the least effort, the load is as close to the fulcrum as possible and the effort is as far from the fulcrum as possible.

Pulleys

• Belts turn pulleys in the same direction.
• Crossed belts make pulleys turn in the opposite direction.
• A small pulley and belt make a large pulley turn slowly
• ​A large pulley and belt make a small pulley turn faster.

Gears

• Meshed gears turn in opposite directions
• A large gear turns a small gear faster
• A small gear turns a large gear slowly.