Polydron

Whilst I don't want to sound like a salesman for Polydron, I had to share very briefly how delighted I have been with the apparatus, which the class have used to explore components.

Polydron Revolution is a system which allows children to explore gears and pulleys to make moving models.

We began by spending some time looking at pulleys and gears. We considered the directions of the turns and explored the ratio of the different sizes. Then we moved on to bevel gears which will turn horizontal movement into vertical movement.

Next we explored the use of these in simple models. We added wheels and struts to make our designs more complex.

For the following two weeks we explored the models available. We made the models on the instructions and then we added our own modifications.

The children were then allowed to let their imagination run wild and make their own models!!

As well as being lots of fun, the children were really creative in their work. They learned many of the principles of using components.

Here are some videos of our work:

Gears and Pulleys Polydron Revolution 2010 Part One from Wistaston Church Lane on Vimeo.

Polydron Revolution 2010 Part Two from Wistaston Church Lane on Vimeo.

Polydron Fairground Rides from Wistaston Church Lane on Vimeo.

More Fairground Rides from Wistaston Church Lane on Vimeo.

Fairgrounds 3 from Wistaston Church Lane on Vimeo.