#edugif

Build a Biosphere

Building your own closed, self-regulating system can be difficult, but experimenting with those systems under a close watch is fascinating! Our Earth is one big biosphere, and although we haven’t successfully recreated it (yet), we’re learning so much from these experiments. Making these experiments allows us to think like artists, and react like scientists. Artists like Olafur Eliasson and Robert Smithson are manipulating Earth’s systems in their work to remind others how precious our Earth really is.

Crystallization

It’s been a while, but I’m back at it! I’ll be sharing Edugifs each month, illustrating projects my students and I are currently making in the classroom. This month’s Edugif is inspired by the Earth science inquiry project my students are currently working on. Making crystals was a lot of fun, and gave my students a chance to observe how Earth’s systems can change over time.  

Tinkering: Paper Circuits

Here's another Edugif for the Exploratorium! You can now see a series of Edugifs on display in The Tinkering Studio, and you’ll be able to tinker with the materials listed to make your own. 

Copper tape and surface-mount LEDs allow you to make a fully functional circuit on a flat surface, like a piece of paper. Illustrate your own light-up card, make origami animals come to life, or create three-dimensional pop-up paper sculpture that have working lights in them. The basic circuit is very simple, and yet allows for a wide range of explorations and aesthetic expression. With a little more effort, you can add switches, which can be as simple as a piece of aluminum foil, to add a dynamic element to your creation. 

Toy Making

Tinkering: Scribbling Machines

I've started making edugifs for the Exploratorium! You can now see a series of edugifs on display in The Tinkering Studio, and you'll be able to tinker with the materials listed to make your own. Currently on display and available for making are Scribbling Machines.

Scribbling Machines are a great example of a low-tech activity that works well on its own, but can be made more complex by using microcontrollers and sensors. At the basic level it's a motorized contraption that moves in unusual ways and leaves a mark to trace its path. It's made from simple materials and demonstrates the erratic motion created by an offset motor. You can get started by scavenging for a motor in old toys or electronics. Once you've gathered your materials, and built your first machine, try tweaking your variables. You can add weight to offset your motor, reposition your markers, switch out your structure – the possibilities are endless!

GIF Tip: Build a Potential Energy Vehicle 

Create a vehicle that stores potential energy, then converts it to kinetic energy. A fundamental law of Physics is that energy is never created or destroyed, only changed from one form to another.