Musical Machines

The Musical Machine class provides an opportunity for students to develop their engineering skills through sound and simple machines. Throughout the trimester, we built five different types of simple machines including an incline plane, lever, screw, wheel and axel, and pulley using materials found in our everyday lives. For our final project, we made marble runs using cardboard and recycled materials. Their goal is to make it through the marble run that can play three different pitches in the most elaborate way possible.

Simple Machines

Incline Plane

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Wheel and Axel

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Screw

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Pulley

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Marble Maze Construction

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Using the Studio Habits of Mind

Develop Craft: I can build simple machines like an incline plane, screw, lever, and pulley out of everyday materials.

Envision: What will my work look, sound, or feel like when it’s finished? What steps will I take to complete my work?

Engage and Persist: How can I work through mistakes or problems to find solutions?

Reflect: What did I find most challenging and how did I overcome this challenge?

Engage & Persist: I look for creative solutions to problems I encounter. I ask for help when I get stuck.

About the Studio Habits of Mind

Arts classes at AACA use the Studio Habits of Mind as a framework for guiding student learning. These 8 habits describe the learning and thinking processes that students engage in as they create art, music, drama, and dance with us. Look for these habits throughout the project descriptions in arts classes portfolios to better understand the learning goals we are working on with your children.