In the beginning, I asked, do the kids know what is this “orange-Hand-thing” and what they could use it for. The first answer was, that it helps things to throw up in the air, like a catapult. Also, they were more interested in the Ladybug robot, which was meant for the activity. They asked why they can not turn it on and what does the Ladybug robot can do. I explained, that the batteries were empty and it is meant only for the activity. I also asked, that whether the kids think they are that strong to lift a big cupboard or a big shelf by themselves or not, and when they said, that they are that strong enough, I asked them to prove it and lift them. Of course, they did not have the strength to do it. They explained, that they need to grow up and eat healthy food and do exercises to become strong enough.

Then I asked them, what they think, how this leaver is made? Their first thought was that our kindergarten’s handyman Victor built it. Or maybe it came from the store. Then I explained, that there was this 3D printer I used and I made it with my course-mates together. I showed them the video, how it was made. Then one of the children said, that she knows exactly, how does this 3D printer works because her dad has it in his work.

After the short video, I asked the kids, what do they think, how heavy is the Ladybug in a basket if we put the leaver on the balancing support and through the nearest hole of the basket, and does anything changes when we put the hand on the balancing support through the last hole. One of the youngest and one of the older ones said, there is no difference. One of the younger ones thought the opposite ways, that when it should have been easier to lift the Ladybug, he said that it was harder and had to put more pressure on the hand. And the only girl, who was one of the older ones, said that if the leaver was supported near the basket area, it was easier to lift it and when the balancing support was far from the basket, she had to use more pressure to the hand.

Then I suggested them to find some other things from the room for testing out the leaver. One boy brought a box full of peanuts, but it was too big and slippery to stay on the basket (the basket area was very small). Then a 5-year-old boy brought a plastic salt cup, but it was too light to see any differences. So after that, we decided to put some glass marbles in the cup to make it heavier and it worked perfectly. The children were very eager to participate in the activity.

At the end of the activity, I asked them, if maybe they can tell me, where in real life they could use the leaver or maybe they have seen someone use the leaver to lift heavy things. The only girl answered that his dad uses similar things to lift cars up in his work. Others could not come up with anything. So I gave them some examples, like in the playground they need to lift up a big stone/rock to move it from one corner of the sandbox to the other, then they probably need the leaver. Or at grandma’s place, in the countryside, they need a leaver to lift heavy things for grandma, if she needs help.

Last but not least, we tested the Archimedes’ theory outside on a seesaw swing. I asked if it is possible that the smallest participant could lift me up on a seesaw, considering that I am bigger and heavier than the kid. They shouted all together that it is no way possible. At first, we sat on both ends of the seesaw and I lifted the boy up. Then I moved a little closer to the balance support, but nothing changed. When I moved pretty close to the balance support and sat on the swing, our little participant could lift me up high. I explained the point, that it is easier to lift heavy objects when the balance support is placed as near the heavy thing as possible. After that, they were super pumped up and started lifting each other and doing 2 vs 1 and 3 vs 1 experiments.