Prototypes

inspiring windmill

Project - Windpower

This alternative energy activity involved the design and production of a large wind turbine out of common materials. On a windy day, the voltage peaked at 8.22V.  This is compared to a windfarm consisting of pop bottle sized windmills.

dan speaker

Project - Speaker

One of the most successful projects of the summer was the construction of speakers from common recyclable materials. Using any thin flexible material for a diaphragm (such as a paper or plastic plate) several speaker prototypes were created. This one was made out of an old catering tray lid and produced surprisingly good sound.

celery stand

Project - Glowing Veggies

This odd image is in fact the set up of an emission spectra lab. A high voltage current is applied to the celery which glows a certain colour based on the doping treatment it has received. Similar in principle to the standard high school flame test, but much more fun.

chocolate from microwave

Project - Chocolate & Wavelengths

This chocolate bar was melted in a microwave with the turntable removed and shows clear melting at the nodes of the standing wave. Using the known value of the frequency of the microwave and measuring the distance between the nodes (wavelength), you can calculate the speed of light!

dan pulley

Project - Mechanical advantage to lift your teacher

Who says science can't be fun? This pulley experiment demonstrates one of the fundamental simple machines in an active way that is fun for all participants. The number of pulleys can be adjusted to show the relationship between mechanical advantage and applied force.

dan pulley

Project - Soap

In this experiment, non-animal fat sources are used to make soap. This long-term experiment introduces one of the oldest known chemical reactions after fermentationand lets students change variables to make different coloured, scented, and hydrating soaps that they can then take home and use.

diana soap

Project - Biggest bouncy ball

This gloopy mess is a large latex ball that, when dry, exhibits extremely elastic properties. This polymer lab deals with two different types of elastic polymers: natural latex and polyvinylacetate (PVA) found in white glue. The lab involves changing the ratio of wet and dry ingrdients and measuring their impact on elasticity.



duh

Project - Paper making

One of the other long-term projects is a paper lab that explores creating different types of paper from altertnate cellulose sources like vegetables. Paper can be made from beets, celery, and bananas as well as from newspaper and rough paper towels.

Tags: 
Back to top