A Balancing Act

The weather has been so amazing, that I can't justify making my students come inside. Instead, I've taken my lessons outside. 

We brought our small classroom scale to the sand park with us. We added sand to both sides, trying to balance the sides. Shells, shovels, and other random items were weighed as well. 

Then, we super sized it!  Using a broom handle, strong string, two 5-gallon  buckets, and a structure on the playground, we made a giant scale. The kids had so much fun balancing the aides, trying to fill one bucket to be heavier. Until, the broom stick snapped! One of my students suggested we try again with pipes. We just might have to try it!