This past weekend, we got the opportunity to organize a workshop for kids whose parents are students at Stanford University. We had a diverse attendee list with children from Brazil,India,Japan,Nigeria,and Singapore. These kids had moved to the USA a couple of months ago and some of them could only speak in their native language. It was the first time we had such a diverse group for a Fun With Circuits session. It was a challenge in the beginning to communicate with children from varied culture and background but once everyone warmed up, it was fun all the way to the end. These kids immersed themselves in learning and building circuits and their curiosity and excitement was contagious.Even the parents could not resist themselves from tinkering around.
December 13, 2014
in Blog
Tags: battery, Circuitisfun, ElectricalEngineering, electricity, lamp, LED, motor, resistor, schematic, STEM, switch
You put your thoughts on paper when you begin designing something. These thoughts or ideas then translate into drawings/sketches. In the same way, before designing any circuit, we make a “schematic” on paper. Each electrical part has a symbol that can be easily drawn. Here is one such drawing:
Recently, we were at a Children’s Museum testing our kit and getting feedback on it.There were many people including children who stopped as they were walking past our table and showed curiosity to know about Fun with Circuits. A mom and her 7 year old daughter also stopped by. The mom seemed really interested and she wanted her daughter to try it out. However, the little girl was tired and when we asked her whether she wanted to play with the kit, her answer was a sharp NO.
After a few minutes of being cajoled by her mom, she was ready to make just one circuit. Slowly, she got interested in the story and soon built her first circuit and smiled at what she saw. She wanted to know what happened next in the story, so flipped the page and created another circuit. She had taken charge by then and was keenly moving on. Excitement had taken over her weariness. When she was finished, her mom asked her a couple of questions based on what she did and the little girl gave prompt answers. Before leaving, she told us – “I had Fun with Circuits and Thank you. Can I take this toy home?”
It has been a fun ride so far with bumps and rocks on the way.The goal is to keep moving. Keep watching this space for new stories.
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