Gravity, How Does It Work?

The Gravity Tree
Written by Anna Crowley Redding & Illustrated by Yas Imamura
Age Level: 5-8 Years
Published May 25, 2021

Every parent knows the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

You can probably name at least one of Isaac Newton’s achievements: he developed calculus, created the laws of motion, and demystified rainbows by figuring out that white light is made up of many colors. But his most significant and far reaching contribution is that he discovered universal gravity.

It all started in 1665 when Newton was sitting beneath an apple tree and a piece of fruit fell on him. Instead of simply eating it like a normal person, Newton started thinking: why did the apple fall down instead of up, or sideways?

“Could that falling piece of fruit explain why the moon doesn’t float away from Earth or crash and smash right into it?”

Newton’s groundbreaking discovery paved the way for countless scientific and mathematical breakthroughs. And his apple tree, which came to be known as the Gravity Tree, acquired its own fame. Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking made pilgrimages to it, an astronaut brought a sliver of its bark to the International Space Station, and a small piece was incorporated into a stage coach crafted for the Queen of England. Small saplings derived from Newton’s original Gravity Tree have been carefully and lovingly transplanted all over the world (there’s even one at Stanford University here in the States!), where they grow and inspire all who visit and ponder under their branches.