Students often have difficulty grasping the reality of what is being discussed in introductory courses in mechanics. For some students, especially those who are struggling, physical reality becomes mired in seemingly endless equations and the apparent mish-mash of theory and practical application. This should be prevented if at all possible, as mechanics is the first course in which students can participate in designs that include material type and geometry in a realistic way. One essential method for convincing students of the importance and truth of what you are teaching is to actually show them that truth up close. Students crave reality when confronting engineering topics for the first time. In a sense, students say "Show me the money!", or "Don't TELL me, SHOW me…". This paper presents a number of simple, low-cost and rapid classroom demonstrations that enhance student understanding by allowing for the direct observation of physical phenomenon. Each of these demonstrations has been thoroughly classroom-tested, and comments on the use of each demonstration are presented. Demonstrations of stress transformation, shear stress, pressure, and load visualization are presented and practical advice on the use and misuse of classroom demonstrations is offered. Student feedback is also presented, and consistently points to the effectiveness of hands-on demonstrations in driving home key points in mechanics.
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