Energy Part 1: Squishy Circuits
Barbara, a science teacher turned art teacher for Boston Public School, facilitated a fun activity where families used play-dough, batteries and leads to get LED lights to shine, fans to spin, and sounds to hear!
Before the activity began we learned that energy can’t be created or destroyed, it can only be transformed and to demonstrate how energy moves though a circuit we all held hands. Barbara initiated a “signal” to a person next to her and that person then transferred that signal to the next person beside them (and so on until the signal made it back to Barbara). The signal was able to pass through the entire circle to demonstrate how energy likes to travel in a circular motion from one end back to the start.
The activity, though very fun, came with some trials that needed some “troubleshooting”. We developed this skill by practicing with patience and making adjustments and changes until we found a solution. For example, we learned that sometimes our play-dough was too close creating a “short circuit”- energy finding the shortest pathway back to the start, leaving us unable to see a light turn on or a fan to spin. What we realized was that sometimes we needed to have enough space between one play-dough and the next play-dough, or our wires needed to be connected to the corresponding battery terminals (negative energy to a negative transmitting wire, positive energy to positive transmitting wire). We also learned to double check that we turned the batteries on! That is always important!
Still, with all of the trouble shooting parents, caregivers and kiddos enjoyed the activity equally.
Barbara described the FT space as a love fest. An environment where EVERYONE wants to be here, is eager to learn and engage in activities, reinforcing that the energy in our space can be seen and felt amongst new comers and veterans alike.
Next time you are in a new environment, or even one you are familiar with, take a pause and check in with yourself and feel the energy that is present. Remember energy exists all around us, you can neither create it, or destroy it, you can only transform it! So if you find yourself is a space that has an energy you can not vibe with, you have the power to transform it!
