This paper presents techniques and procedures for addressing the three major problems of mechanical testing of the thin films used in surface micromachined microelectromechanical systems--specimen handling, friction, and strain measurement. The polysilicon tensile specimens are fabricated with two supporting side strips on silicon wafers at the Microelectronic Center of North Carolina. The tensile specimen is released by etching away the wafer, and the two support strips are cut after the specimen is glued in the test machine. Friction is reduced by a linear air bearing in the load train, and strain is measured with a noncontacting technique based on laser interferometry between two gold lines on the tensile specimen. The Young's modulus of polysilicon is 170 +/- 7 GPa and the strength is 1.21 +/- 0.16 GPa from a series of 29 tests. preliminary measurements have been made of Poisson's ratio and the fatigue behavior, and an attempt is underway to measure the fracture toughness.