Week 2: February 16th, 2011

This week we went more in-depth into basic circuit design. First we played a game by making a human circuit.  One person acted as a switch telling the circuit to turn on or off, another as a battery which sent electricity (in the form of hand squeezes) and the rest of the girls were wires passing electricity throughout the circuit.

Next, we built a simple circuit using a light bulb.  We made the circuit progressively more complicated by adding switches and multiple light bulbs.  We even learned the difference between a series and parallel circuit and the situations where one is better than the other.  These girls have an amazing knack for understanding how electrons create electricity and the effect of circuit design on electric current!

Finally, we listened to a presentation by Morse School 8th graders who were in the process of using their circuit design skills to develop robots for a competition.

Week 1: February 9th, 2011

This semester we have one third grade group and we'll be working through the Circuits and Magnets curriculum! Below is a group picture of our group this semester, minus a few of our mentor scientists.

Here's a recap of the first week's activities from Dewi, one of SCFG's mentor scientists. Dewi is a graduate student at Boston University studying Biomedical Engineering.

"This week we got an introduction to electricity. We learned that electricity- the power that lights up light bulbs and keeps our computers and phones going- is due to the flow of negatively charged subatomic particles, known as electrons. The girls rubbed balloons against their hair, generating static electricity, and built their own circuits! Can you figure out how to put a battery, light bulb, and wires together to turn on a light bulb? The girls at the Science Club for Girls at the Morse School did!"

Here are a few pictures of the girls and mentors in action:

A group circle getting to know each other and going over plans for the semester.

The girls in action under guidance from SCFG mentor scientists