Bike Shop 3-5
Forces, friction, tires, gears, brakes, helmets, reflectors, a flat tire and a design challenge.
Start free → A Rocket & Raven series · Bicycle science
Bike Shop
A free online bicycle science course: forces, friction, gears, brakes, helmets and a safe pre-ride check.
About the series
Bike Shop is a free online course for Grades 3 to 5 about how a bicycle works and how to keep one safe. Rocket, Raven and Nova use the bike to teach real physics: pushes and pulls, friction, air in a tire, gears and the chain, patterns of motion and how light reflects. Kids learn to check a bike before a ride, see how a flat gets fixed, and finish by designing a better bike part. A grown-up handles every tool, and every activity has a no-bike option. Short lessons run Monday to Friday, and Saturday is Bike Shop Day, a family activity with a note for the grown-up. Every fact is checked against sources such as the US Consumer Product Safety Commission bicycle rule, NASA, the Exploratorium and university pages.
In every course
- For Grades 3 to 5
- Twelve weeks, from naming the parts to designing a better bike
- Short lessons Monday to Friday, about 15 minutes each
- Real physics: forces, friction, gears, motion and light
- A pre-ride quick check kids can do with a grown-up
- A Saturday Bike Shop Day for the family, with a note for the grown-up
- Free, start to finish. No card.
The course
The course is free, start to finish.
Questions families ask
What does it cost?
Nothing. Bike Shop is free from start to finish, with no card. A free parent account saves each kid's progress.
Do we need a bike?
No. Every activity has a no-bike option, such as a toy car, a rolling can, a drawing or the lesson's pictures. If there is a bike at home, kids can look at it with a grown-up.
Is it safe?
Bike work happens only with the bike standing still. A grown-up holds the bike and handles every tool, the tire pump and chain oil. Hands stay away from the chain, gears and spokes whenever anything turns. A helmet goes on for every ride.
Does it teach riding in traffic?
No. Bike Shop is about how a bike works and how to check it. Kids ride only where and when a grown-up says.
More from Rocket & Raven
Coding, science, engineering, math and AI literacy from kindergarten through Grade 12. Every course is free.