How things work
Pick a question. Scroll through the story, spin the model, and find the answer yourself.
- Why do we have day and night?The Spinning BallEarth keeps turning, so your house rolls into the Sun's light for day and back into shadow for night.Ages 6–10
- How can a small kid lift a big grown-up?How a small kid lifts a grown-upOn a seesaw, distance from the pivot counts as much as weight, so a light kid far out can lift a heavy grown-up close in.Ages 6–10
- How does a car engine turn gasoline into spinning wheels?How a 4-stroke engine worksFour piston strokes—suck, squeeze, bang, blow—turn tiny fuel-mist explosions into two smooth turns of a spinning crankshaft.Ages 8–11
- Why does the Moon change shape, and how do the Moon, Earth, and Sun all move?Why the Moon Changes PhasesSunlight always lights half the Moon, and as the Moon circles Earth while Earth circles the spinning Sun, we see different slices of that bright half.Ages 7–11
- How does flipping a switch make a light bulb turn on?How an electric circuit worksA battery pushes tiny charges around an unbroken metal circle, heating a thin bulb wire until it glows.Ages 6–10
- How does one notched metal key unlock a heavy door while every wrong key jams?How keys unlock doorsNotched ridges on a key lift five two-piece pin stacks until every split lines up at the shear line, letting the plug turn 90° to pull back the deadbolt.Ages 8–12
- If waves roll in all day, why doesn't the ocean pile onto the beach?How Ocean Waves WorkWaves carry energy forward while water loops in place until sand trips the crest.Ages 7–11
- Why is the sky blue during the day, and why do sunsets turn orange and red?Why the Sky Is BlueTiny air molecules scatter short blue light waves across the noon sky, while sunset's long slant path strips blue away and leaves fiery orange and red.Ages 8–12
- How do my eyes turn light into millions of colors?How your eyes see colorBounced light focuses onto three kinds of eye cones that signal your brain.Ages 7–11
- What makes lightning flash in a storm, and why does thunder rumble seconds later?How lightning strikes—and why thunder followsColliding ice inside a storm cloud builds millions of volts that zap a 1-inch tunnel of air to 50,000 °F, making the air explode outward as thunder.Ages 7–11