Non-Lego pulley builds
Use simple household items to build a belt pulley
There are two builds in this presentation:
Neither build requires special equipment
No pulley wheels used
Both are belt pulleys because the string/yarn forms a continuous loop
The “Share with a Friend” pulley story
Two neighbors, Steven Stepstool and Felicity Fence, are at home and have just finished their remote schooling for the day. Steven wants a healthy snack of fruit, but there isn’t any left for him to eat. Felicity is ready for a movie, she wants to watch Frozen II and knows that Steven’s family recently bought the DVD.
Felicity calls Steven to ask to borrow the Frozen II movie and Steven agrees. The kids decide to trade some fruit for the movie. They set up a simple belt pulley from one house to the other…….
Supplies to make your pulley
Two hangers (plastic doesn’t scratch and is thicker)-this is the “pulley wheel”
Yarn or string- this is the “belt”
Paper and markers, paper clips or alligator clips, scissors- the “load”
Pulley base attachment options:
Fence, stool, refrigerator or oven handle, upright vacuum cleaner, chair, other
Camera- please take photos to send the teachers
Attach the hangers to each base point. Wrap yarn in a large loop around the hanger tubing and tie ends together, trim loose ends
The hanger becomes the Pulley Wheel!
The yarn is the Belt
Steven Stepstool’s end
Felicity Fence’s end
Cut a sheet of paper into 4 pieces. On two pieces of paper color your pictures of what the two friends will send to each other.
Attach your papers with clips. Notice that each paper attaches to opposite sides of the yarn. It helps if one paper hangs lower than the other, you can use extra clips at the bottom to add weight.
Pull on one side of the yarn to move the items from one friend to the other.
Clip at bottom
Our story continues…..
Steven clips his Frozen II movie to one side of the pulley string, and Felicity hangs a bag with an apple and orange to the opposite side of the pulley string. They each start pulling on the string until the movie is with Felicity and Steven can reach the bag of fruit.
Their plan worked great! The two friends decide they can share more on other days too.
Felicity and Steven hope you enjoyed making your own “sharing pulley”.
The Flagpole Pulley
Make a flag for your Remote School or class. You can raise it each day when your school-at-home is in session!
Supplies
Use the same supplies as the first build, plus:
a one gallon jug filled with water
1.Hook the hanger to a
high spot outside or inside your house
2.Attach the string/yarn around the hanger
3.Attach the string around the handle of the gallon jug
4.Tie the ends of the yarn together
1.Fold a sheet of paper in half
2.Draw and color your flag
(on one side or both sides)
3.Fold the left side of the flag over
¼-½ inch, then fold again
(this will help it stay on the string)
4.Insert one side of the pulley string into the fold, clip at top and bottom to secure
You can add an additional clip to help stabilize the flag (as shown in photo)
Pull on one side of the string to raise your flag
Pull on the other side of the string to lower the flag
You could even make up your own pledge!