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Tools and simple machines

This topic set is about simple machines, their uses, history, and experiments. It includes information on tools and their evolutionary history. SCIS no: 1924701

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Carpenters’ tools

Carpenters’ tools

Tools were imported from the great industrial cities of Britain such as Sheffield and Manchester. Carpenters and joiners owned their own tools and took great care of them. They were a considerable ...

Stone resources

Stone resources

This map shows the distribution of stone resources utilised by Māori. They were a neolithic people, who relied on stone resources for tools. The most important tools were toki (adzes) and whao (chi...

Stone tools

Kōhatu – Māori use of stone: Stone tools

When the ancestors of the Māori first arrived in New Zealand from East Polynesia, around 1250 to 1300 AD, they found a wide variety of rock types suitable for making tools, ornaments and other item...

Pounamu – jade or greenstone: Pounamu – several names

Pounamu, greenstone and New Zealand jade are all names for the same hard, durable highly valued stone, used for making adornments, tools and weapons. Each name is used by different groups: Pounamu ...

Historian Richard Bulliet on the history of the wheel

Historian Richard Bulliet on the history of the wheel

Columbia University Historian, Richard W Bulliet has written the book, The Wheel, which traces the history of the invention that changed the world. He begins in 4-thousand BC when wheels were first...

The Tools of Our Ancestors (Evening Post, 05 August 1939)

tool, kitchen

rotary egg beater metal, rusted, metal handles with spiral down to beater ends

Carving Family History - Tales from Te Papa episode 86

Carving Family History - Tales from Te Papa episode 86

Traditional methods of making tools are often lost in the modern age; find out how Kupa and Jack, brothers from Tokelau, have kept alive their grandfather's legacy by learning how to make adzes. TA...

[Langsdorff, Georg Heinrich von], 1774-1852 :Waffen und Gerathe der Einwohner von Nukahiwa. Verm. Gegenst. CLXXII, melanges CLXXII [Weimar? 1815-1830?]

[Langsdorff, Georg Heinrich von], 1774-1852 :Waffen und Gerathe der Einwohner von Nukahiwa. Verm. Gegenst. CLXXII, melanges CLXXII [Weimar? 1815-1830?]

Shows a centrally placed formal arrangement of crossed spears, paddles, carvings, gourd, axe, fish hook, necklace and a skull on a plaited cord. Each item is labelled with numbers 1 to 13. Accompan...

scales, balance

scales, balance

balance scales as used by Chinese gold buyers in early New Zealand [col]. Given to donor by a Miss Hilliard whose father befriended a Chinese gold buyer who gave him the scales c1880-90.

SIDCHROME. TOOL SET

SIDCHROME. TOOL SET

Shot of Sidchrome tool box and tool set coming towards camera. People working with tools. Wide shot of tool set.

MECHANISATION

A propaganda film promoting the use of machinery in farms and factories. 0 ft. Intertitles: “Mechanisation”. 5 ft. C.U. Hands operating tool for rolling cigarette. 10 ft. C.U. Hands working cow tea...

Te hī ika – Māori fishing: Tools, grounds and methods

An array of Polynesian fishing equipment was adapted for conditions in New Zealand: the kupenga (net), aho (line), matau (hook), matira (fishing rod), pātia (spear), tāruke (pot), hīnaki (trap) and...

A catalogue of tools for watch and clock makers

A catalogue of tools for watch and clock makers

Tool academy: Māori artefacts from Redcliffs

Kia ora, Recently we had some great finds from Te Rae Kura/Redcliffs. Unbeknownst to many folks making their daily commute along the Port Hills’ Main Road, a nationally significant Māori archaeolog...

Tools for Cleaning (Evening Post, 23 December 1933)

Measuring Tools

Measuring Tools

acrylic on aluminium 1700 x 1600 mm - primary: signed & dated C1994/1/538.6, l.c., acrylic, "Killeen 1994"secondary: reverse of each piece, typed label, "Catalogue no: 2456/ Richard Killeen/ Measur...

instruments, surgical

instruments, surgical

surgical instruments surgical instruments in a green shagreen case [for domestic use]; instruments: scissor handled tweezers; spatula-like instrument; long handled instrument with small cutting bla...

FIRST TOOL USERS (Evening Post, 11 July 1938)

The Rauner brothers

The Rauner brothers

The Rauner brothers – from left, Edward, George, Tony, Jo and Adam – pose with the tools of their trade. The mighty forests of Pūhoi soon rang with the sound of axes as men carved farms from the bu...

Martin Collection: Gun Cleaning Kit

Martin Collection: Gun Cleaning Kit

Gun cleaning Kit belonging to Andrew Martin (WWI, 2nd Lieutenant, Canterbury Mounted Rifles 7/90) Andrew Martin was born 14 August 1892 and attended Otaio School before joining his father on the fa...

Workshop industries:

New Zealand’s early industrial workshops were a wide range, from tailors through to umbrella-makers and pumice works. The most common types of workshops in 19th-century New Zealand were aerated-wat...

Hammer

chisel

greenstone scraper. drilled.

Chisel

nails

nails iron nails; 13 handmade, 1 machine made; all handmade nails marked with an "N" next to head of nail

Nail scissors

Cutlery set

Pa kahawai (kahawai lure)

Pa kahawai (kahawai lure)

Pa Kahawai (trolling lure)

Pa Kahawai (trolling lure)

Hoe (paddle)

Hue

Hue or calabashes were used to hold water, preserved game and medicines.

Greenstone toki

Greenstone toki

This toki poutangata, the blade of which was made from pounamu (greenstone), was said to represent the authority of rangatira (chiefs) and their leadership of tribes. Toki were among the most highl...

Toki (adze)

This toki (adze) is possibly a toki-hila - a large adze used to carve the hull of vaka (canoes). It comes from the island of Nukunonu in Tokelau, although toki like this are also made in New Zealan...

Patu aruhe (fernroot beater)

Patu aruhe (fernroot beater)

Comb

Pen

A promotional Puke Ariki pen with a silver plastic body bearing Puke Ariki logo in black. A black rubber grip is fitted to the pen. This promotional Puke Ariki pen was purchased for $3.95 from Vivi...

Wheel

View of an old steel wheel embedded in concrete, on grass in front of a body of water.

axe

axe. Upper Acheulean flint axe. From the Caton-Thompson (1952: 54-58) investigation of Kharga Oasis between 1931-32. Excavation number KO10C 283

Bushman sharpening up their axes-Kawaeranga Bush

Bushman sharpening up their axes-Kawaeranga Bush

Asset ID: 18243 Copy negative number: c/nE4366/34A Filename: 1505_01_048A Sequence: in originals Photographer: T.W. Collins no 53 Collection: T. W. Colilns Coll. Notes: See supporting material v.f....

Axe

Pit Saws

Stone drills

Tūwiri (drills) had two cords. The tip was a hard, sharp stone. Sand and water were used as an abrasive during drilling.

knife

obsidian knife.

Knife

Careful with that Axe

Careful with that Axe

This is the first installment in director Jason Stutter’s trilogy of short cautionary tales. The ingredients are simple: playful kid, dangerous tool. The recipe for a comic screen gem? Mix them up....

spinning wheel

spinning wheel , by Nicolson, Wellington

needles, knitting

needles, knitting

Packet containing pair of knitting needles

Chopsticks

Pulleys their uses, types, operation and historic use.

Simple and compound machines

The difference between simple and compound machines.

Types of machines

Simple and complex machines.

What is a simple machine?

A definition of a simple machine.

Marvellous machines: early robots

Robots that date back over 500 years.

Ancient tools from the Early Stone Age to the Later Stone Age.

Why we need wheels and how they work.

What’s in your tool belt?

The thought process behind what goes into a tool belt.

Simple machines

How are simple machines used?

Basic types of simple machines

Simple machines for applying force and doing work.

Inclined planes

Inclined planes – explanation and examples.

Nature's tools and how birds use them.

Archimedes and the mighty mathematics of the lever.

Learn the names of hand held tools.

Mechanical advantage

Introduction to simple machines, mechanical advantage and moment.

Making work easier

Six simple machines to make work easier.

Moving it with simple machines

An understanding of the six simple machines, what they do and how they have changed our lives.

A unit on simple machines

Lesson plan to enable students to sort, categorise and define simple machines.

Trades through history and the tools used for each trade.

History of technology

A history of tools and technology.

Medieval rope-making in Visby market.

Flintknapping a spearhead from a rock.

Making stone tools

Nicholas Toth shows how early humans made stone tools that were simple but effective.

The history of power tools

The history of civilization could easily be measured in terms of our ability to make, use, and improve tools.

Ancient Mesopotamian tools

Amazing tools from the Mesopotamian civilization.

Ancient Mesopotamian tools

Amazing tools from the Mesopotamian civilization.

Concern that the art of whakairo will be lost

A master carver is concerned that Māori art of carving will soon be lost.

Making a whao, a Maori woodcarving chisel with a jade blade.

Making a simple tool

A simple tool to make rope from plastic bottles.

Tools and simple machines

Tools made from metal, wood, and plastic work like extensions of your body.

Animals and tools

The truth about animals and tools.

Ten tools every kid should learn to use.

A reality series where a 21st-century family lives for 10 weeks as their forbears did in 1900.

A range of tools used by American pioneers.

Careful with that power tool

The award-winning dangerous short film.

Simple machines STEM activity

A PVC pipe pulley for kids that involves science, technology, engineering and maths.

Simple machines, survivor-style

Students apply the principles of simple machines to create events in a wacky obstacle course.

Māori tattoos: history, practice, and meanings

How the tools and process of tā moko have changed.

[Robley, Horatio Gordon] 1840-1930 :Patu tuna ; eel striker / [H. G. Robley] [1860s or later]

Patu means ‘hit’ in Māori and is a general term used for a club. This elaborately carved patu tuna was used to kill eels. A patu could be made of wood, stone or bone. There were two types of patu t...

George Ebbett Collection, Maori Greenstone tattooing tools, Hawke's Bay District

Maori pounamu tattooing tools

Pounamu meaning ‘greenstone’ is the Māori name for jade. It is only found in some South Island West Coast rivers. Because of its hardness many important Māori tools were made from pounamu and it fe...

A 63 Lever interlocking frame for Invercargill railway signal station, in the Petone Railway Workshops

Lever interlocking frame

There are 65 levers in this interlocking frame at the Invercargill Railway signal station. A lever is a simple machine which consists of a plank or beam that is free to rotate or move from or on a...

Grinding wheels

Grinding wheels

Wheels are everywhere and an essential part of our modern technology, but this simple wheel-like machine has been used since ancient times. The first wheels could have been rollers made from tree ...

Tool kit

This tool kit can be found in anyone’s garage or home. It’s a handy box to have around the house to repair or maintain small jobs or for a do-it-yourself project. A tool kit or toolbox is used to ...

Page 4 Advertisements Column 8 (Taranaki Daily News 14-9-1905)

The first part of this newspaper article from 1905 is an advertisement for garden tools. Shown here are a shovel and fork with a list of garden tools manufactured by ironmongers W.W Murton & Compan...

NEW METAL FOR TOOLS. (Mataura Ensign 18-2-1911)

New metal for tools

Metals have played an important part in the manufacture of tools. The Iron Age began around 1200 BC when iron was used to make tools and weapons. The only real problem with iron is that it can rust...