Ideas for Principle #8

💡 Pool floats - help us float against our body weight that pulls us down.

A helium balloon - the helium pulls the balloon upward against the force of gravity that's supposed to pull it down.

A kite - uses the force of the wind to keep the kite in the air so it doesn't fall to the ground.

Ankle weights - used to pull light things down, like in horseback riding - if the rider is too light they could fly off when the horse starts to gallop, so ankle weights are used to give the light rider more weight so they can't fly off the horse's back.

Is it hard for you to carry a school bag that's too heavy?!
The weight pulls us down and tires us out the whole way.

Try to think what counterforce could "offset" the weight that's weighing us down.

Just like helium offsets the weight of the balloon, you can find a solution that pushes in the opposite direction - for example a bag with wheels, so the floor carries the load for us instead of our back.

Ready for a challenge? We've prepared some extra challenges for you to try

Now it's your turn to invent. Design your own imaginary counterforce that offsets one thing that weighs on you every day.

Easy
1. Find one more thing at home that uses a counterweight together, and check how it works.
2. Ask your child: what's the heaviest thing in their day, and what imaginary counterforce would help them with it.

A bit of a stretch
3. Choose a small expense they made this week together, and agree together how much money to move to savings to balance it.
4. Check together whether the school bag is well balanced between its two sides, and how you could improve that.

Challenge for champions
5. Ask your child to design a chair or a swing with its own counterweight that matches their body weight exactly.
6. Try together to think of a situation in life where a balance between two opposite things, like rest and studying, would help, and plan together how to maintain it.