Clothespin Shark

Time: 10 minutes

What you need:

• Construction paper

• Glue

• Markers

• Clothespin

• Pencil

• Toothpick

• Scissors

• Googly eyes

What you do:

1. Trace the body of your shark onto the construction paper and then cut it out.

2. Add gills to your shark with your markers and glue one googly eye down.

3. Once you're finished decorating your shark, cut your shark in half horizontally so it's chopped into two pieces.

4. Take your clothespin and lay it down with the handle on the right side.

5. Glue the top half of your shark to the top half of the clothespin. Then, do the same with the bottom half of your shark and clothespin.

6. Draw a small fish on your construction paper.

7. Cut out the drawing of your fish and cut your toothpick in half. Then, glue the fish to the toothpick.

8. Take the glued fish toothpick and glue it to the bottom half of your shark near it's mouth.

9. Use the handle to open and close the clothespin shark and see what happens!

Questions to ask:

1. What happens when you squeeze the clothespin?

2. What would happen if you glued the shark pieces in a different spot?

What's the science:

Your clothespin shark uses a lever to make it's mouth move. The clothespin has a spring in the middle that acts as a pivot point, or fulcrum. When you squeeze one end, the other end opens, just like a shark opening it's jaws to catch its prey.

This activity also demonstrates force and motion. The force from your hand is transferred through the clothespin, causing the shark's mouth to open and close. Engineers use similar lever systems in everyday tools like tongs to make grabbing and lifting objects easier.