Simple & Complex Machines

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Buy engineering experiments from STEM Supplies discover the benefits of complex and simple machine kits!

Whether you’re looking for simple machines projects for elementary students or more advanced activities with complex machines for older students, find what you need here at STEM Supplies. Students can start by learning about the basics of simple machines—lever, pulley, inclined plane, wedge, screw, and wheel and axle—and build or experiment with them to see how they work. Simple machines help transfer force from one place to another, change the direction, increase the magnitude, or increase the distance of the force. This in turn makes moving objects easier.

Students can also build complex machine projects to see how two or more simple machines can work together to complete tasks. During the process, students discover proper usage and how each machine can make work easier with no, or very few, moving parts.

Key Benefits:

  • Simple and complex machines help us do work quickly, easily, and safely.
  • They help us decrease the work—or the amount of force required to move something.
  • Two or more simple machines can be combined to form a complex machine.
  • Real world application: Simple machines are all around us! From the seesaw on the playground (lever) to a doorstop in the classroom (wedge) or a ramp outside school (inclined plane). Complex machines include a wheelbarrow (lever, wheel and axle), a crane (pulley, lever, wheel/axle), and an escalator (pulley, inclined plane).

Shop for simple and complex machine kits at STEM Supplies to encourage students to create and engineer devices that simplify tough tasks.