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  • WARNING: The Homopolar Battery Ballerinas project is only for older children as neodymium magnets are extremely strong and MUST BE KEPT OUT OF REACH OF SMALL CHILDREN. Do not give them to any child who might put them in their mouth, they are dangerous if swallowed. 

The mantra we repeat in our programs is “I may not know, but I know I can figure it out.” Our projects are designed to foster the same “we can do it” attitude, and we encourage you to share this message with your children at home.

6th-8th Grade Projects

Resource 1

Kinetic Butterflies

Today we learned about physics by diving into Kinetic Energy, or the energy of motion. A few things you can ask your child:

–What is the difference between Kinetic Energy and Potential Energy? Objects have kinetic energy if they are moving. Objects that are not moving but could move if released have potential energy. 

-Where does your butterfly store potential energy? When the rubber band is wound the potential energy is stored in the rubber band. The more it is wound the more energy it stores.

Check out our Rosie Explores activity below to learn more!

Potential and Kinetic Energy Girl Blowing up a purple balloon
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Physics, Energy

Rosie Explores Potential and Kinetic Energy

Investigate potential and kinetic energy with two fun experiments!

Resource 2

Homopolar Battery Ballerinas

When electricity and magnetism are combined, we can create motion. An electric current flowing through a wire that happens to be in a magnetic field feels a force push on it. In this system electricity flows through a wire from the positive side of a battery to the negative side and into the magnet. It then flows across the magnet and back into the wire causing a spinning motion. In our Homopolar Battery Ballerinas we used magnets and electricity to create a specific motor known as a homopolar motor. It is called this because the polarity made by the wire and magnetic field does not change (“homo” meaning “same”).

Resource 3

Hydraulic Desk Lamp

Hydraulics is a branch of science that studies the usefulness of fluids in motion. To create the moveable arm of our hydraulic desk lamps we harnessed the power of liquid’s special in-between state. While liquids can be easily heated or cooled, they do not compress easily, meaning you cannot squeeze them like you could a solid or a gas.

In a liquid, pressure (force per unit area) is transmitted equally in all directions. If you have liquid in a tube, and you push down on it at one end, the liquid will move, pushing out through the other end without losing any pressure. This idea is also known as Pascal’s Principle which states that a pressure change in one part of a fluid is transmitted without loss to any part of the fluid and the walls of its container. If the container is smaller at one end, you can increase the pressure as the liquid is forced to squeeze through a smaller space. This allows moderate pressure at one end to create stronger pressure at another end.

We used this principle to create the hydraulic valve that lifts our desk lamp’s arm. The pressure applied to the small syringe creates a stronger pressure on the large syringe to lift the arm of our lamp!

Resource 4

App Lab

Today we learned about computer science on Code.org, a fun, creative platform for learning computer science and basic coding to create interactive animations, games, or apps. 

How to get your child set up to use Code.org at home:

Our class uses personal logins to sign in. To have your student sign in to Code.org at home, do the following:

  1. Go to https://studio.code.org/ and click ‘Sign In’
  2. Have them enter their email and password and then click ‘Sign In’
  3. If your student does not remember their password, they can reset it from the sign in screen

At the top of their homepage, your student can continue the course they were working on today. They can also create their own games or artwork in the Project Gallery or check out code.org/athome for ideas for things to work on at home.

How to connect your email to your student’s account

Keep up to date with what your student is working on and receive updates from Code.org. Have your child sign in to Code.org and then enter your email in Account Settings.

Why computer science

Six different studies show: children who study computer science perform better in other subjects, excel at problem solving, and are 17% more likely to attend college. Computer science teaches students critical thinking, problem solving, and digital citizenship, and benefits all students, no matter what opportunities they pursue in the future. And learning to make interactive animations, code-art, games, and apps on Code.org encourages creativity and makes learning fun.

Code.org’s commitment to student privacy

Code.org assigns utmost importance to student safety and security. Code.org has signed the Student Privacy Pledge and their

privacy practices have received one of the highest overall scores from Common Sense Media. You can find further details by

viewing Code.org’s Privacy Policy.

Check out our Rosie Explores activity below to learn more!

Coding
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Coding

Rosie Explores Coding

Get ready for a mess and a ton of laughs as we code a "robot" to make a PB&J!