Sabin, DaVIS, HETRICK, ANDEREGG, Macalady, walker, darling and Katers

How does electricity work? You only need one LED Christmas light to make this fun STEM flashlight to begin the conversation.

There are many other STEM projects on-line using materials around the house.

Start with a few observations and questions. Count all of the plug- in electrical devices or battery devices in your home. How does electricity work? What famous American scientist experimented with electricity? Think: key and a kite.

Children often start with seeing static electricity by rubbing a balloon on dry hair or pulling apart two cloths from a dryer in a dark room. They talk about electrons, protons, atoms, and matter very early.

STEM

To make a flashlight that controls the flow of electrons, you will need sandpaper, five pennies dated after 1982 (copper coated zinc), salt, a little pool of water in a dish, 2 tablespoons of vinegar, four poster board circles cut a bit smaller than the size of a penny, paper toweling, a white or red LED light (use the least electricity), and clear packing tape or electrical tape.

Use sandpaper to remove the copper from the Lincoln side (thinnest) of four pennies. It should be shiny.

Add salt to the water a little at a time and stir. Keep adding salt until no more salt dissolves (super saturated). Then add the vinegar and stir to combine. Now put the thin cardboard pieces in the salt and vinegar until they are soaked. Place on a paper towel. Now build the battery by taking one of the sanded pennies zinc side up and placing a piece of wet cardboard on top. Stack another penny zinc side up and another cardboard piece. Continue with the of the rest of the sanded pennies and cardboard.

Place the final un-sanded penny on top. Check that all zinc sides are facing up with a layer of cardboard covering each and the top and bottom of the battery stack are copper. Pennies should not touch each other.

Flashlight

Turn on your flashlight by connecting the longer leg of the LED light to the top penny (positive end) and the shorter leg to the bottom penny. When the light is lit, secure it with tape. Can you make a stronger battery with more pennies? Can you recharge your battery by re-soaking the cardboard?

How does this work? When the two different metals surfaces (electrodes) are connected by the salty vinegar solution (electrolyte) a chemical reaction occurs. The zinc reacts with the saltwater to create electrons and the copper reacts with saltwater to use the electrons. When the LED light is connected, electrons have a controlled flow or circuit. For more fun, see grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com; wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons; Facebook and Pinterest.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Grandparents Teach, Too is a non-profit organization of elementary and preschool teachers from Marquette, Michigan. The writers include: Jan Sabin, Mary Davis, Jean Hetrick, Cheryl Anderegg, Esther Macalady, Colleen Walker, Fran Darling, and Iris Katers. Their mission since 2009 is to help parents, grandparents, and other caregivers of young children provide fun activities to help prepare young children for school and a life long love of learning. They are supported by Great Start, Parent Awareness of Michigan, the U.P. Association for the Education of Young Children, Northern Michigan School of Education, the Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum and the Northern Michigan University Center for Economic Education.