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MIDDLE SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
Telegraph
OBJECTIVE:
Learn basic electrical wiring skills!
MATERIALS:
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1 LED light (3V) 
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1 Mini Breadboard (minimum 170 tie points ?) 
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1 Clothespin (wood/plastic) 
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1 Piece of cardboard (approx. 10cm X 7cm) 
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2 Lengths of solid core wires (22awg) 30cm each 
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1 AA battery holder (two batteries) 
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2 AA batteries 
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Wire Stripper 
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Scotch Tape 
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Hot Glue gun 
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1 metal screw 
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1 length of magnet wire (32 gauge) at least 90 cm long 
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5 small paper clips or 20 staples 
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2 alligator pin ended clips 
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1 breadboard (minimum 170 tie points) 
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1 AA battery holder (two batteries) 
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1 piece of sandpaper (2 cm X 2 cm) 
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2 AA batteries 
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PROCEDURE
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
STEP 4
STEP 5
STEP 6
STEP 7
STEP 8
STEP 9
STEP 10
STEP 11
STEP 12
STEP 13
Using a hot glue gun, glue a stir stick to the center of the cardboard base.
Take two pieces of 30 cm wire. Use wire strippers to strip off approximately 2 cm of the plastic coating on both ends of the wires.
Remove a 5 cm by 3 cm section of cardboard above and below the stir stick as shown.
Cut a 2 cm X 7 cm strip of cardboard, center it, align with the 3 cm cuts and hot glue as shown.
Repeat step 5 gluing the 2 cm X 7 cm strip on top of the previous strip.
Put dabs of glue on the end of the stir stick and in line over the stir stick where the cardboard covers it and glue down another stir stick over the top as shown
Tape one of the wires across base and bottom stir stick as shown.
Cut out a circle of cardboard and slide the stir stick through the center of the corrugation.
Slide the other wire through the center of the corrugation of the circle on top of the stir stick.
Bend the stripped wire back so that it folds over the circular piece of cardboard.
Run the back ends of both wires through the corrugation of the top cardboard strip in the back.
Insert the LED bulb with the longer leg (+) in the breadboard as shown in the diagram. Then insert the two wires from the clothespin into the breadboard according to the diagram.
Put the batteries into the holder and plug the wires into the breadboard. If the wire is fraying, twist the fibers together.
Sensorized Glove
OBJECTIVE:
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MATERIALS:
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Rubber bands (size #16)
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Velostat sheet (pressure sensitive conductive plastic)
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Copper tape
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Wire solid core (WHS22-09-100)
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Breadboard (5cm x 3.5sm)
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Piece of cardboard (or empty cereal box)
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Metric ruler
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Scissors
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Clear tape
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Hole punch
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Wire strippers
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Breadboard jumper wires
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100 Ohm Resistors
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Sparkfun micro:bit Breakout
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Micro USB cable
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Micr
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o:bit
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PROCEDURE
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
STEP 4
STEP 5
STEP 6
Trace hand on a piece of paper and draw the bones inside the hand
Students build, test, and calibrate wearable finger sensors.
Students mount robotic fingers and servo motors to cardboard base.
Students complete electronics component using Instructions.
Students connect their microcontroller to Excel for data visualization.
Put dabs of glue on the end of the stir stick and in line over the stir stick where the cardboard covers it and glue down another stir stick over the top as shown
Robotic arm
OBJECTIVE: Fun competition among participants through use of robotic arms that utilize hydraulic technology.
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MATERIALS:
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Cardboard (double corrugated)
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Hot glue/super glue
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Syringes (8 x 10ml)
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Tubes (few feet, cut into 4 strips for each syringe)
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Water
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X-Acto knife/ box cutter
ELABORATION:
The participants will be able to construct their own robot arms that can move around and grab items. Multiple hydraulic systems made from syringes, water, and tubing will control the arm’s movements. At the end, participants may compete against each other to see who can control their robot arm to pick up the most objects the fastest!
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PROCEDURE
STEP 1