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Archimedes Screw

This workshop experiment enables kids to master historical engineering techniques that were used throughout the waterways of Ireland in the 1800's.

Suitable for Ages 8-10 

Thinking Skills and Personal Abilities

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  • Collaborative Learning

    This activity encourages collaboration between children or parent and child

  • Active Learning

    Active learning through the application of foundational engineering principles

  • Thinking Skills

    Application of decision making and problem solving skills 

Archimedes of Syracuse was an ancient Greek mathematician and engineer who invented a device known as the 'Archimedes Screw' that pumps water and may have been used to irrigate the plants in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Did you know?

Water normally falls backwards due to gravity...

If you want water to go in another direction you have to apply pressure to it. So if you put your thumb to the tap when it is running you can squirt water up and across the room! An Archimedes' screw is a type of pump which lifts water up when it is turned. Used since ancient times it lifts water from a lower to a higher level e.g. in rivers or lakes and can be used to irrigate fields or for draining water out of mines. 

The lowest portion of the screw dips into the water, and as it turns water is scooped up into the tube. As the screw turns, the water slides along the tube until it comes out of the top of the tube.

Let's Experiment

Try to build an Archimedes screw at home or in the classroom. Collect your materials listed below and follow 6 simple steps to conduct your own experiment. 

Estimated time 30min. 

Equipment needed


1 x Plastic bottle

30cm Narrow plastic tubing 

2 x bowls or basins

300ml Water 

Sellotape or Duct Tape

Food dye (optional) 

1 x Book (to raise one bowl higher than the other)

How to build

How to build

Tape one end of the narrow tubing on to one end of the plastic bottle. Make sure to leave at least 1cm hanging over the end.

Math Activity

How much water can be moved from the lower bowl to the higher bowl in 2 minutes? 

  1. Calculate the rate i.e. the number of millimetres per minute. 
  2. Time how long it takes to move half a cup of water from the lower bowl to the higher bowl. 
  3. Work out how many turns it takes to move half a cup of water up to the top bowl. Use a permanent marker to mark on top of the tubing. When this mark comes round to the top again, that counts as one turn. 

Follow-up Activities 

Investigate whether the following makes a difference to the rate at which the water comes out of the top of the screw: 

  1. The length of the screw 
  2. The diameter of the tubing 
  3. The number of turns of the tubing (if turned too fast the water does not have time to get into the tubing) 
  4. The angle at which the screw is placed in the water