So 11YO mudgirl wants to enter her school’s science fair. This is not required, and is not homework. She needs to figure out a project to do.
She’s very interested in making a contraption out of simple machines, but also is into robotics, etc. One idea I had involves hex bug nanos. She got a set for Christmas, and I’m thinking if it’s not too difficult for her to make one (or two) from random parts, she could make a display that demonstrates the difference between the homemade ones and the ones that come from a toy store. Any ideas about that?
The area we live in is pretty rural, so it wouldn’t be easy for us to get parts/supplies that are too complex, but we do have access to places like Lowe’s/Home Depot, Wal Mart/Target, A.C. Moore.
build a larger motor (I believe that the classic example is using a soda can as the guts) - there are all kinds of plans on the internet. To make it more “sciency” you could have her change the speed or power by changing the number of wire loops or magnet strength and observe these effects.
The basis for the hex bug movement is an unbalanced wheel. So have your daughter do a study on the length of spinning time of a balanced wheel compared to unbalanced wheels. Also perhaps extending it to wheels on cars and the necessity of balancing them.
Just a thought, but what about a Rube Goldberg sort of thing, in which she can string together a lot of simple machines to make a simple task incredibly complicated and amusing? I’ll bet that would be fun, educational, and impressive.
Hah! Very interesting! I’ll talk to her about it tomorrow. She can do her presentation all about how things can be made very complicated if you don’t sufficiently understand your goal or have a clear vision of how to achieve it. . .
Once upon a time, I remember reading about the classic simple machines, the screw, the lever, and some others. Perhaps she could make at least one of each, and have information about the classic simple machines?
Hi** norinew** - MissGypsy has a very good idea because the device could be entertaining and gain some notice. If the task can operate in closed loop doing something over and over again there will be a crowd around the her project all the time. The use of a number of simple robots to perform a complicated task instead of a single specialized robot is also a good demonstration of a robotic technology principle.
Very, very cool!
Is she really ten already? Oh, my! How come it seems like other people’s kids shouldn’t be growing when you don’t see them! And I don’t even want to start thinking about how big Miss Gypsy’s little guys must be getting!
Little? Not so much, anymore… One’s almost as tall as me, which isn’t much, I admit, but he’s a 3rd grader. And one’s in kindergarten, planning to go to medical school. And the baby is in preschool, planning to take over the world or the house or something.
And yes, the older two are still harboring a lingering crush on your daughter.
www.sciencebuddies.com is a good website that allows you to search for projects based on how much time you have to complete it, your area of the country (by zipcode), grade level and her interests. This website also includes a ton of information and resources explaining science fairs/projects.
One of these days, we’ll have to make it into Cumberland, and from there, it’s a pretty short trip to see you guys!
Though I should warn you: she does have a boyfriend now!
At the 4-h fair one year there was a great experiment about which battery lasts the longest. A gal had hooked up several brands of batteries to a clock (then a lightbulb and a clock wired together because the clock itself didn’t drain them fast enough) and recorded which batteries lasted the longest. In her tests it was a cheapo drugstore brand. Really interesting I thought.