Simple Machines

The six classical simple machines are the wheel and axle, the lever, the inclined plane (or ramp), the pulley, the wedge, and the screw. People have been using the six simple machines to move stuff around for thousands of years. These days, the simple machines are all around us in both obvious and surprising places. Check out some interesting examples of simple machines from our collection. While you look, try to identify which simple machines each object or image contains. Some have just one machine and some have a whole lot!