This past week our science co-op took apart small appliances...we were up to our elbows in wires, tools and simple machines!
This is a great activity for grades Kindergarten and up.
Here are some suggestions for a successful appliance dissection(!):
- Do not take apart televisions or computers. Even when they are unplugged, they can pose a danger.
- Check yard sales and Goodwill for old appliances. We used a food bag sealer, coffee maker, toaster oven and juicer.
- Check the screws on all of the appliances. We had some "star" shaped screws which required a special bit on the cordless screwdriver. You'll want to make sure each child will be able to take their appliance apart.
- Check the sizes of the screws and have several sizes of screwdrivers on hand.
- Some of the metal edges might be sharp, have children wear lab gloves and lab goggles.
- Allow for plenty of time. The children will want to take apart everything. Our group even took apart the timer bells...they were fascinated to see what made the bell "ding"!
Discussion Suggestions:
- As the children take the appliance apart, help them determine how the machine does its job. For example, we took apart a coffee maker and were able to follow the flow of the water through the heating element, into the coffee filter holder and into the coffee pot.
- Have the children look for simple machines within the appliance.
- Also, be on the look out for these electrical components. Even the youngest children in our group had fun trying to find one of these..
http://www.reachoutmichigan.org/funexperiments/agesubject/lessons/handouts/elcomponents.html
Related Websites
http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/stc/ccc/docs/3/repair.htm
http://www.misd.net/IL/DL/FTFridays/Creating%20My%20Own%20Rube%20Goldberg%20Machine%20Lesson.pdf
Thank you for visiting. See you next week!
Michelle
Michelle and her husband have been homeschooling for 10 years and enjoy life in a tiny southern town. They are the owners of Treasure Box Press. Michelle holds a Master's degree in Child Development and Family Studies. She serves as the Judge Advisor for the North Carolina FIRST (www.usfirst.org) Lego League and a judge for the www.FIRST.org World Festival. She is the author of numerous Sam's Science Adventures, including "RIC: Robots in the Classroom", all available through www.TreasureBoxPress.com. She spent 15 years in the biotechnology industry before turning her heart toward home.
