Machines are everywhere! They help make work easier, like when you need to lift something heavy or reach way up high. Some machines are so simple that you might not think of them as machines. There are six simple machines: the lever, the wheel and axle, the pulley, the ramp, the wedge, and the screw.

Can you adjust a seesaw to lift an elephant? What happens when you combine two or more simple machines? Read and find out!

D. J. Ward is a high school science teacher who also writes science books for children. His titles include Exploring Mars, Materials Science, and, in the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series, How a City Works and What Happens to Our Trash? He lives in Castle Rock, Colorado.