STEM Do It Yourself Project | Balance Scales | Wooden Design | Early Education

Children learn to compare object sizes from a very young age. It’s a useful skill in identifying the largest piece of cake or biggest pile of candy. As adults, we measure weight to determine how much a package costs to mail, if a truck can safely cross a small bridge or whether we may need to buy new clothing in a larger size. A balance scale is an objective way to compare the weight of two different objects directly. This tutorial describes how to build a working balance scale and ways in which students may use it to explore the concepts of balance, weight and size.

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Assembly Time: Up to 60 minutes

Tools Needed: Adhesive Agent (such as hot glue, super glue, wood glue, etc), paint

**Uncoated Option: Contains laser burn marks due to the cutting process. It is MEANT to be painted however you wish so that you can great an awesome DIY wheel.

**Coated Option: Contains minimal laser burns and is treated with a waterproof coating. It cannot be painted. You'll need to use paper or other items for placing the options on the wheel.