George Ferris Jr. wanted to build a giant simple machine. It would be a huge wheel and axle. He called it a monster wheel.
What would his wheel do? Ferris said it would be over 200 feet tall. He said it would turn. People would ride on it.
Ferris wanted to show his wheel at the World’s Fair. People wanted to see new and exciting things at the fair. The monster wheel would be new. It would be exciting.
Most people laughed. How could a big wheel like that move? Wouldn’t it fall over? They didn’t think it could be done.
Ferris worked hard to build his wheel. He used more than 100,000 parts. The giant axle weighed almost 45 tons. There were 36 cars on the wheel. Each car held 60 people. That was 2,160 people who could ride at the same time.
The wheel was huge, and it worked! Everyone was amazed. “What on Earth is that?” they asked. People lined up to ride the monster wheel.
Riders loved the Ferris wheel. They had never been so high in the sky. More than 1.4 million people tried it. Each rider paid 50 cents for 20 minutes of fun.
No one laughs at Ferris’s idea today. People all over the world line up to ride on his wheel and axle.
Activities:
Watch the videos to learn about the Ferris Wheels. Have you ever ridden the Ferris wheels? How do you feel riding such a huge wheel? How could such a giant wheel move? How do you handle any challenges when you try something new? Discuss with your partners.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01f8PFAyl6c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjeiWeu9y-Q
