How to go
What: Six Simple Machines exhibit at the Warren County Historical Society
Where: 105 S. Broadway, Lebanon
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesdays-Saturdays
Cost: $5 for adults, $3.50 for students under 18
More Info: (513) 932-1817 or www.wchsmuseum.org
Two hundred years ago, the latest in technological breakthroughs was a ramp that shifted at an angle and a rope attached to a wheel. It wasn’t exactly a computer in terms of technological design, but for pioneers taming the wilds of Western Ohio, it made all the difference in the world, historians said.
“It may not look like a lot, but it changed the way people worked,” said Gene Slorp, a volunteer at the Warren County Historical Society Museum. “Tools were created to make work easier and ease up on your back pain. That’s where it all stemmed from.”
Slorp is the chief designer of “Six Simple Machines,” a new permanent exhibit at the Warren County Historical Society Museum. The hands-on exhibit demonstrates the way that six simple machines were able to drastically alter work loads and efficiency in pioneer times.
“The pulley, the wheel, the lever, the wedge, the incline plane and the screw are considered the six simple machine,” Slorp said.
The goal of the exhibit, which students will be able to play with, is to use one’s cognitive skills to realize how pioneers had to use the simple machines to survive in the wild. The wedge for example, could be used as an ax to split wood, start fires and build homes. The pulley allowed pioneers to lift heavy items.
Lowe’s Hardware Store is a corporate sponsor of the exhibit.
“This was a very fun project for the staff at Lowe’s” said Lowe’s spokeswoman Brandy Wilkins-Messner. “We were able to take Gene’s designs and not only donate the pieces but assemble them at our store.”
One of Slorp’s designs — a miniature pulley — demonstrates how a feedbag or hay could be lifted into the upper decks of a barn without undo stress on the back.
“It’s an interactive type display for younger school children,” said Jessica Thress, archeologist at the museum. “Children are probably aware of tools like the wheel barrow, but they didn’t realize the history and science behind them until now.”
The Warren County Historical Society Museum is located at 105 S. Broadway in Lebanon. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays. Admission is $5 for adults and $3.50 for students under 18. For more information, call (513) 932-1817.
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