On the first crisp Monday of autumn, Autumn, Anthony, and Ayshia met under the old Maple Street gym to work on their science fair project about mechanical energy.
They wanted to show how mechanical energy moves and makes things work from bike wheels to playground swings. Autumn asked questions, Anthony loved tools, and Ayshia sketched clever solutions.
Days before the fair, their demo lamp refused to glow. The battery pack was missing and a note on the school's power box read 'Out of order.'
They tried a bicycle dynamo, a jar of bouncing marbles, and a seesaw pulley. Each idea wobbled and fizzled, and Anthony wound up with a helmet of string.
Then Ayshia spotted the old metal merry-go-round shining like a big coin and wondered if its steady spin could become their missing power.
They scavenged spare gears, a salvaged toy motor, and a shoelace for a belt, then built a tiny gear train to carry the merry-go-round's spin to their light.
At first the bulbs fluttered, then steadied. They realized the steady glow came not just from the machine, but from the rhythm when they took turns spinning, pedaling, and hopping together.
On the night of the fair, their display hummed and the tiny bulbs glowed as neighbors gathered. Autumn explained how mechanical energy flows through gears and people.
They didn't just win a ribbon, they learned that curiosity, steady teamwork, and a little playful thinking turn motion into light, and that energy sometimes lives in the people who share it.
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