Author name: Julie Iden
Library System: Ruth Enlow Library of Garrett County
Date of program: 09/16/2015
Title of Program: STEM Kids- Electrical Circuits
Description of Activities:
I started off the program with a power point presentation on electrical circuits. We discussed electricity, conductors, insulators, the flow of electricity through a circuit, series circuits, and parallel circuits. We used an energy ball to demonstrate electrical circuits. This was not included in our coding kits, but it would make a nice addition to your kit. When you touch the ball's metal strips, the ball lights up and creates sound. We made predictions on whether or not electricity would flow through the human body. We kept adding kids to our human circuit until all fourteen kids were
included in our circuit. If someone broke the connection by letting go of their hands, the ball would stop lighting up and making sounds.
We then divided into two groups. Half of the kids worked independently using the Snap Circuits Jr's. I purchased additional Snap Circuits Jr. kits, so we have a total of five. The children worked in groups of two, and that worked out well. They enjoyed working through the projects in the project guide that came in each Snap Circuits Jr. kit. Some of the older children skipped ahead to more challenging projects. Each group was successful in completing circuits to make lights and sounds and even a flying saucer.
I worked with the other half of the group making squishy circuits. They were able to complete both series and parallel circuits. We had trouble with a few LED's burning up. We were told not to attach the LED's directly to the batteries, and I think that that the LED wires were touching the wires coming from the batteries inside of the play dough. My son said that we needed resistors, but I'm not sure how that would work.
STEM Kids is an hour and a half long, once a month program for children ages 6-13 at the Ruth Enlow Library in Oakland. By using the squishy circuits and the Snap Circuits Jr's. from the coding kit, the children were able to learn a lot about electrical circuits. They were given the opportunity to create many different circuits using several different materials. I liked that they were able to make their own discoveries using the provided materials. The program worked well for both the younger and the older children.
Event Photos: http://www.wmrl.info/sites/default/files/webform/IMG_3325.jpg
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