"Electrifying" Circuits and an Exciting Introduction to the World of 3-D Design

This week the students learned about circuits. Some questions that the classes discussed were; What is a circuit? What does it do? What do you need to make a circuit? What makes a circuit complete?

The 3rd-5th grade classes used our Makey Makey circuit kits to create circuits that controlled a virtual piano and bongos on the laptops. They were able to explore different materials to determine what would and would not conduct the electricity needed to complete the circuits controlling the instruments. Some of the materials they discovered that worked were the library chairs, scissors, tools from our Take-Apart Center, and even our friends!! They discovered that wood and paper do not conduct the electricity needed to power the virtual piano.

The students in 1st and 2nd grade were also able to explore Makey Makey circuit kits that had already been set up with each kit connected to a different type of object. Some of the objects that they were able to test were bananas, popsicle sticks, corks, carrots, Lego pieces, foil, and pipe cleaners. They were very excited to learn that the fruits and vegetables were able to conduct enough electricity to power the piano keys!! The students were also able to use the Snap Circuit sets to assemble simple circuits that powered things like a miniature light bulb and toy propellers.

In addition to our lesson on circuits, all of the 2nd-5th students were able to watch a tutorial video for Tinkercad. Tinkercad is the program they will be using to design their very own creations to print on the 3-D printer throughout the year. They were able to explore the program by trying out different lessons for themselves. The lessons covered everything from personalized key chains to Minecraft party eyeglasses. The students were excited at the seemingly limitless possibilities.