a few of my favorite things

I love leaving the lab open after school on Fridays because it’s a nice relaxing time when everyone can take some out to make something before the weekend. At least, that’s the idea.

What really happens is that on most Fridays, there is decent enough attendance, especially from some of our 6th graders, that I find myself running around helping everyone instead of making something myself. BUT I am absolutely not complaining because the alternative of no one coming to Bourn Fridays would be much much sadder.

Anyway, what this means is that when there is that Friday when attendance is minimal and the only kids here are those who know the lab inside and out, I will absolutely take advantage and play around myself. Like this Friday, I got to tinker around with this little guy:

I’ve had this project pinned on our lab’s Pinterest page forever and it feels good to finally get some time to make one!

Success! The little motor kit I bought from RAFT has finally been put to the test!

It zips along pretty nicely but it’s probably a bit complicated to use if we want students to really understand the essentials of how to use electromagnetic interactions to generate movement. Something a lot simpler would work a lot better to strip away any “magic” and allow us to focus on the physics. For example, something like this or this.