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Simple Machines in the Wild: Levers, Pulleys & Outdoor Science for Kids

  • Writer: jenniferlaceybaker
    jenniferlaceybaker
  • 4 days ago
  • 4 min read

Updated: 2 days ago



A girl with a clipboard in nature working through a worksheet that is used to record wildlife observations.

🪵 A Walk in the Woods Turns into a Homeschool STEM Lesson


This past May long weekend, we packed a picnic and set out to pick Morel mushrooms—part of our ongoing Wild Child homeschool nature science adventures. I wish I could tell you that we ended up with bucketfuls like last year, but unfortunately, this time was a total bust!


But in true Wild Child fashion, we pivoted—because any day outdoors can still become an adventure.


We decided to switch gears and do something else we really enjoy—hauling firewood. While my husband fired up the saw, I handed Ruby a clipboard with a few sheets from the Wild Child Nature Starter Pack, she quickly made note of the wildlife signs she saw around her, but little did we know, nature had a different lesson planned for the day: a hands-on STEM moment all about simple machines for kids.


While I loaded rounds into the back of the truck, the kids wandered off to check on a fort they’d built last fall. When I went to check on them, I found Ruby with a log propped on another.


“Oh, cool! A see-saw!” I laughed, coming to  join her.


We spent the next ten minutes horsing around, balancing, and talking about fulcrums and levers. Turns out the forest is a perfect classroom for exploring simple machines.



🧰 What Are Simple Machines?


For anyone who’s ever used a screwdriver to dig dandelions (I’ve learned to leave them be—for the pollinators!) or a wheelbarrow to haul dirt to the garden, you’ve already used a simple machine! These tools help us do work with less effort.

Here are the six classic types of simple machines:


  • Lever

  • Pulley

  • Wheel and Axle

  • Inclined Plane

  • Wedge

  • Screw


These simple machines aren’t just clever inventions. Nature is actually full of them, from the wings of a bird that acts as a lever, to the inclined plane of an ant hill. 

It turns out the forest is a great setting for teeter totter nature play that’s infused with simple machine discovery. Today we’re focusing on two simple machines that we touched on during our impromptu outdoor learning session. 



💡 Forest See-Saws & Simple Levers

A girl in a forest balancing on a teeter totter that she constructed out of two logs.

What is a lever? In simple terms, it’s a rigid bar (in our case, a log) that pivots around a point called a fulcrum. When Ruby placed one log across another and used it to lift, bounce, and play, she was experimenting with:


  • The lever arm (the long log)

  • The fulcrum (the log underneath—though we later tested a big rock!)

  • The load (me!)

  • The effort (her own body weight and muscle)


We explored how the load shifted depending on its distance from the fulcrum and talked about how our arms, legs, and even bird beaks use the same mechanics. Outdoor science in action.



🎒 Hanging Backpacks & Bear Safety (Pulley)


Earlier that week, while driving through Kootenay National Park, we spotted a black bear on the roadside. Add that to the large piles of bear scat we saw on our failed mushroom-picking adventure, and it sparked a great reminder to approach safe food storage through a simple machine lens.


Hanging a backpack in a tree using a rope and branch? Classic pulley system.A pulley is a simple machine that uses a rope looped over a wheel—or in this case, a sturdy tree branch—to help lift a load. It changes the direction of the force and makes it easier to hoist something heavy off the ground.



🧺 Why Food Storage Matters in the Wild


Jen Baker as a WildsafeBC community coordinator showing a rubber track of a Kodiak Bear to a small child.

When I worked as a WildSafeBC Coordinator, one of my favourite jobs was teaching bear spray workshops. Helping families feel confident outdoors was so rewarding—but teaching how to prevent wildlife encounters in the first place? Even better.


That all starts with managing attractants:

  • Secure garbage

  • Pick ripe fruit

  • Store food properly while camping or hiking


Bears can smell food from kilometres away. If they get an easy reward, they’re likely to come back—and that’s how bears become “problem” animals. But it’s not their fault. 


That’s why we encourage campers to use food lockers, stash food in vehicles, or string up a backpack using a pulley system.


Ideally, food should hang at least 12 feet off the ground and 6 feet away from branches and trunks.


Using a pulley isn’t just clever; it’s conservation.



🌲 Wild Child Learning: Simple Machines in Nature


These are the moments that inspire Wild Child Literacy—spotting real-world science tucked into everyday outdoor play. From logs and levers to rope and pulleys, nature is bursting with opportunities to notice, name, and nurture curiosity.



🎁 Free Wild Child Printables


These outdoor STEM printables are perfect for homeschooling families, forest school educators, or any curious kid ready to explore science in the wild.


🔹 Hang It High! – How food safety uses a pulley

🔹 Teeter-Totter Time – Exploring fulcrums & balance with natural levers


Forest Stem Fun! Levers, Pulleys & Real-World Physics For Kids text overlay. Background image is of a child setting up a teeter totter out of logs in a forest setting.

📸 Share your pulley or lever creations with us on Istagram! Tag @wildchildliteracy—we love celebrating wild learning in action.


If you found this post inspiring, feel free to share it with others! Pin it to your favorite boards, or share it with friends and family who could use a little more nature in their lives. Let’s inspire others to get outside and enjoy the wild moments, too.




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