Sparks of Fun!!
This weeks theme is all about electricity and how it works. Our bodies and internet rely on electricity to function. Try these activities with your kids to help them better understand the electricity that powers us and the world around us.
Quarty Tips!
Always be careful when working with electricity! Make sure to check with an adult before plugging in any devices!
Pre/K Activities
In these lessons your young one will explore the notion of direction in current and basic principles of magnetism.
Inquiry Questions:
What is Positive?
What is Negative?
Why do things attract to each other?
If your learners enjoy the activities below and want more. Check out these 17 crazy ideas from Evil Mad Scientist Labs for fun with magnets. These are the ideas of evil mad scientists, a group not known for much care about injury or property damage! Use your good judgement and stay safe!
Magnet Fun
If your young scientist hasn’t played with magnets, now is a great time!
Many toddler train sets have magnets to link the cars together. See if you can answer these questions: Which refrigerator magnets will work to repel each other? Will a refrigerator magnet be strong enough to pull a train car?
What will magnets stick to?
Use this simple chart to track your child’s observations! Review your findings together and ask your child what the items that stick together have in common.
Bert and Ernie Discover Magnetism
Check out this video where our favorite Sesame Street Characters learn about magnets.
Giant Magnetic Crane
Magnets are not just the small buttons you use to put papers on your fridge. Some magnets are big. We mean REALLY BIG! Check out this video of how humans can use magnets to move really heave objects. How do you use magnets in your house?
Electricity Scavenger Hunt
How is electricity used in your house? Here is a great scavenger hunt for your kids to do!
Thank you, Tom at Trail 4 Success for letting us share this great resource! Look for more of Trial 4 Success at Teacherspayteachers.com
Elementary Activities
These activities focus on putting electrons to fun use. Check out these videos on static electricity.
The Science of Static Electricity
Static Electricity with Bill Nye the Science Guy
Balloon Fun!
Inflate a balloon, rub it on your head and look in the mirror. Can you make your hair stand up? Besides your head, what else can you rub the balloon on to create static electricity? Can you stick the balloon to the wall? To a laboratory assistant (maybe a parent, sibling, or pet) Can you pick anything up with the balloon? (hint try cereal. We recommend Rice Krispies)
Quarty Tip!
Try things in the kitchen like flour and sugar
Shuffle Sparkle Dance!
Put on some socks, drag your socked feet on the carpet and touch something metal!!! Do you have socks of different material – cotton, wool, fancy dress socks? Do they create different charges on your carpet? What if you use a rug? The couch?! The possibilities are endless!!
Moving water with static electricity!
Turn on a faucet so it a slow steady stream. Take a comb and rub it with some wool (try socks, sweaters, the itchy scarf from winter). Now hold the comb next to the water. What the heck just happened?!? You moved water! Science Rocks!
Quarty says: Eventually the speed of the water is too fast for the electrons to be attracted to balloon and the water won’t move. Can you find the point where this happens?
Using cereal to test static electricity
You need some O shaped cereal [only because it’s easier to tie a string too]. Tie the cereal to a string and tape the string to a table so it’s hanging. Many a cat has attacked this experiment. You have been warned. Now get the comb from the previous experiment and either use the wool again or comb your hair with it. Use the comb to try to move the cereal. You can also use a balloon to do this too.
Be the light!
Get a fluorescent light bulb and your comb or balloon. Go into a dark room and use the comb or balloon to see if you can create a spark between it and the light bulb. Incandescent sometimes work.
Quarty says: I have not been able to replicate this with LED lights, but maybe you can?
Middle School Activities
Squishy Circuits!
This activity from Makerspaces is one of our favorites at SPICE camp.Check out this great video from Sylvia’s Mini Maker Show on how to make the dough.
You will need lots of flour and lemon juice for the dough!!
Quarty Tips
I don’t like heat. I make my conductive dough by adding all the liquids and salt together, stirring for a minute and then adding the dry ingredients.
Wait? How does Quarty stir with no arms?
Did you save the battery pack and/or some LEDs from the toy surgery last week? No battery pack. SPICE has got your back!!!
Use batteries taped together! Depending on your LEDs you may need more multiple batteries. Quarty had to use 3 AA batteries in series (total of 4.5V) to get theirs to work.
Batty packs have wires. Where can I get wire?! Have any old charging cables around? They have wire in them that can be used. Cut a 4-6 inches off, strip the outer casing off (this is the hard part) and then separate the wires. Pick two of the wires in the bundle and strip off the ends. [video example with wire strippers] [video example with scissors] [video example with diagonal wire cutters]
Need LEDs? Have any sting lights that use LEDs in the house! Extraction time! The strand can also be a source of wire!!
Pliers and multi-tools work really well for disassembling lights.
Make sure to ask permission before disassembling your parents electronics!
With a charging cable wire
With a light strand wire
SCIENCE ROCKS! Here is Scientist Ben with his Squishy LED Caterpillar!
Quarty Says: Use your creativity to make your Squishy circuits into creative shapes and creatures!
Helpful hints:
Make sure the conductivity dough doesn’t touch both sides of the wires or LEDs.
Quarty Says: If it’s not working reverse the polarity by switching where the positive end is and where the negative end is. I found it easier to leave the wires and turn the LEDs.
Have fun!!!!
Sticky Tape Electroscope
Test out this handy technique for detecting charge!
High School Activities
Make a battery from Pennies!!!
This Instructable shows you how to make a battery from the loose change in your pocket and a little lemon juice.
Can you make a circuit and power multiple LEDs?
Need LEDs check in the middle school activities for ideas
Can you make the squishy circuit (above) and power your creation with your penny batteries?
Do other coins work as well?
What happens if you don’t sand the battery? Try sanding different amounts and see what happens.
Build a simple motor!!!!!
Electric motors are shockingly simple devices. You can make your own from stuff lying around the house. Check out this blast from the past explaining how electric motors work with Mr. Wizard.
If you have any old toys with motors in them, take them apart and see just how simple they are inside.
Quarty says: I see what you did there. Shockingly simple.
Build a charge Detector!
This handy little tool can help compare the intensity of charge between objects.
Build a flashlight!
Use this lesson to build your own flashlight. This lesson calls for a particular bulb and holder. These bulbs can be found at hardware and automotive stores. They are often used as indicator bulbs and you may be able to scavenge one from an old electronic device.
Build a BEAM bot
Check out these tutorials for building tiny bots. BEAM bots are small “dumb” bots that do not require any complex circuitry. BEAM stands for biology, electronics, aesthetics, and mechanics. Beam bots take advantage of the physical structure of the materials used to create particular behaviors. The do not require controllers or ships. More advanced BEAM bots can be designed to turn, chase or run away light, or work without batteries using solar panels and capacitors.
(may have to sacrifice an old toy for a motor)
Turn an old toy motor and simple craft objects into a bot that will make art!
Try playing around with how you distribute the weight on your bot and see how the drawing changes!
These little bots made from a tooth brush are fun to watch skitter around. You can scavenge a pager motor from an old phone or simply add some uneven weight to a toy motor shaft. Try different tooth brushes and/or clipping some of the bristles on your brush to change the bots motion!
If you enjoyed making these bots you find more advanced tutorials here.
Build a circuit Interactive
This handy online tool lets you design and test circuits before you build! Great for testing ideas before you get building.
Awesome videos about electricity
Other cool links to learn stuff