Simple Machines - Our Guided Inquiry Presentation

We worked on this Guided Inquiry as a class

Each little group worked on finding out information about one type of simple machine.
We then put the presentation together with the help of our teacher Mrs. Raj

By Room 10 Students

My MOTAT Experience to learn about Simple Machines

M.O.T.A.T

Wednesday the 16th of April

Glenbrae senior students went to MOTAT  for our trip about Simple machines.

Our educator Melissa was showing  where the machines were made and why we need them. We need them for survival.

The pump house we saw was first made in 1877 at the Auckland MOTAT. The Pump house was used to  pump fresh clean water to all the homes and factories in Auckland.

After that we went to  see Sir Edmund Hillary's Gallery and we searched up information about him. He  led the New Zealand Team of the

Commonwealth Trans Antarctic Expedition in 1955. He  completed the first Overland crossing of Antarctica using snow mobiles and used simple machines for doing simple tasks.

At 11:30 we went on our tram ride. The trams are run on electricity.  A wire is hooked on top of the power line at both of the ends of the tram to make it move. The Tram we travelled on was made in 1974.

At motat there are lots of new huge machines like Army tanks. I also saw Army grenades and many other mechanisms.

When we finished  looking at machines and mechanisms, we played in the mirror maze for about 5 minutes. After that we went to a class room upstairs and we learnt about  turning small wheels and a big wheels. The trick is the small wheel needs 10 times more strength and the big wheel needs 10 times less strength to move.

Then  we looked at all the types of simple machines that were displayed in the room. For our hands-on activity, we had to try and make a machine. Hannah and I made a twirly simple machine. I had lots of fun looking at all the different simple machines that the others had made, and making my own simple machine. I got lots of information about what simple  machines are and how we  can be creative.

By the significant Katalina.

By Katalina

Simple Machines make life easy for people

We went to MOTAT to learn and discover more about simple machines. MOTAT stands for Museum of Transport and Technology. We had Melissa as our instructor.

At  MOTAT  we first went to the future train and had a turn each on the driver’s seat. Then we went to the Steam House. There was a man who was telling us about the history of the steam machines.

Then we all gathered up at the tram station waiting for the tram. We all sat patiently waiting to reach the other end. It was an exciting experience because all my friends were in the tram with me. We giggled and laughed and quickly reached the other end. The driver spoke about how the tram worked.

After that we went with Melissa to a class to learn about first, second and third Levers. The first lever was a plier, second was a nut cracker, and finally the last was a tong. This was new information that I learnt.

There were new exhibits at the assembly point. For the first time I saw an olden day tank and other army transport vehicles. I was fascinated to see the army vehicles which looked smaller than what we see in movies.

It was an awesome experience for me and at the same time it was fun. I learnt that simple machines makes life easier for people. I hope we can go back there again and have more time to learn about transport.

By Christian

I learnt a lot about Simple Machines

M.O.T.A.T RecountWe went to MOTAT to learn about Simple Machines and Mechanisms. We first went to the car engine. There was a video playing about how the engine worked. The car engine had gears, cogs and wheels. On the video when the engine worked, the long metal cylinder in the middle spun very, very fast.Then we went to a hall full of different cars and a train that was built to be used in the future. We saw a plane engine placed in front of the train to the right. It was big and we saw gears and cogs again.After that, we had a turn spinning the engine in the big hall of cars. It showed us how it works when a car starts. It also had cogs and gears.During the class lessons, we learnt what gears, cogs, pulleys, levers and wheels do. After that we had twenty minutes to build something which had cogs, pulleys, gears, levers, wheels, wedges, screws and inclined planes. I felt excited trying to build something.Alex and I built a biplane. It was awesome.
There were new exhibits in MOTAT. It was Military Month so MOTAT displayed AA Guns,FV 432 Tanks, Military transport like bikes. It was so fascinating and interesting. The most fascinating for me was the AA Gun because that is the first time in my life seeing a real AA Gun. It was tall and caught my eyes in a SNAP!!.It was an interesting trip because I have learned so much about Simple Machines and Mechanisms. I enjoyed it and I hope I go there again soon with my parents because the time was too short.


By Lisiate

Learning about Things I Never Knew

We went to Motat to learn and explore Simple Mechanisms.

At MOTAT we first explored around the old vehicles.My favourite vehicle is a Morris Eight.The Morris Eight was the most sold out car in year 1930 in England. My group and I watched how a car engine worked in the olden days. While we were in the cars exhibition area we saw the huge black plane engine also.

Then we moved to the Victorian Village. While we were walking around  the Victorian Village we walked into a classroom of the olden days. We also found a pencil sharpener, an abacus, a bell and a weird looking heater. Then we went to the Chapel of the Good Shepherd. We prayed inside the church and enjoyed the experience of the small church. The church was built in 1898 and transferred to MOTAT in 1974.

After that we went to the tram station. We nearly  missed the tram as we were late. So we  quickly went through the shop and onto the tram. The tram that we were riding on was built in 1944 in Melbourne.Our Tram driver was Paul O’ Ryan.

In class we learnt about simple mechanisms. A simple mechanism is a mechanism that makes our life easier by using a simple object. Such mechanisms are pulleys, wedges, levers, wheels and the axle. An Axel gives a point of rotation for a wheel. In the 10 last minutes we got to make a simple machine. My partner and I made a small vehicle.

There were new exhibits outside the car exhibition. It was an army collection of Armoured tanks and huge guns.The FV432 Armoured Personnel Carrier was used for the army and was built in 1964. Its speed was 52 km/h.

It was a cool experience to explore MOTAT learning about Simple Machines.I had an awesome time at MOTAT learning about things I never knew.

By Anamanu

Learning about Simple Machines was interesting

We went to MOTAT yesterday to learn about simple machines.

At MOTAT we first did some exploring. We were looking at the Steam Engine. After that we went to the pump house. At the pump house it was old stuff. Inside the pump house there were some big wheels.

Then we went to the mirror maze. At the mirror maze it was so noisy because there was another school there. My friends and I kept banging our heads on the mirrors because it was so confusing.   

After the mirror maze,  it was time for our tram ride. When we got to the other side of the Zoo the tram stopped. The driver of the tram Paul O’ Ryan asked us if we had any questions after the ride. Some of us only had few questions. Then we went to the game zone. Mrs Pau’uvale our leader said that its time for our lunch. By now I was very hungry.

When we finished our lunch break, it was time for our class lesson.

During the class lesson Melissa our tour guide, talked to us. She told us about simple machines. She gave us examples of simple machines. She also told us to have a look around for ten minutes. After that we had to build some simple machines. I built a merry go round. It was so much fun.

Then we went outside. There were new exhibits such as military trucks, tanks and machine guns. By Edwina