Pathway B. Information for the teacher

Transcription

1 Pathway B This self guided activity trail was developed to assist Secondary students exploring the exhibition Imagination Factory- invent and play at Scienceworks. Information for the teacher Suggested ways to organise your time in the exhibition Prior to your visit to Scienceworks read through the Pathway with the students, and discuss the meaning of any words that might be new. Don t hand out the Pathway straight away. Allow the students to spend the first 20 minutes of their time having a good look and a play with all of the exhibits. In the next 30 minutes they should re-visit exhibits and answer questions on the Pathway. The last 10 minutes can be used to explore any exhibits that individual groups missed, or bring the class together to discuss what they have learnt, what they liked best and why. Please note Museum research shows that more learning occurs when students work in small groups, starting at different points around the gallery. Groups may visit the exhibits in any order. Further activities to support student learning in the exhibition Have students create a class presentation based on one of the exhibits or a group of similar exhibits (e.g. the Gears or Levers exhibits). Working in small groups, students could take photographs of an exhibit and note down relevant information. They will need to make sure they understand how the exhibit works and what it communicates. Back at school, these photographs and/or images of everyday machines could be incorporated into a slideshow, poster or publication for presentation to their peers, incorporating aspects of the Communication and ICT domains. These presentation could include: The title of the exhibit or machine; How the exhibit or machine works; What scientific idea the exhibit or machine demonstrates. 21

2 Pathway B: Imagination Factory Name: School: Station 1: Go to the Wheel Racer exhibit. Place a set of wheels at the top of the straight track and let them roll. Do this for all the different types of wheels. Circle the wheels that stayed on the straight track the whole way. Now roll the wheels down the curved track. Circle the wheels that stayed on the curved track the whole way. Why do train wheels have this shape? Look at the information banner on Wheels and Axles. Name something in your house that is a wheel and axle machine. B-1

3 B-2

4 Station 2: Go to the Play with Pulleys exhibit with the mirror. The four plastic cassettes each contain two pulleys connected by a red band. Two cassettes have a large pulley and a medium pulley: The other two have a medium pulley and a small pulley: Place the two large and medium pulley cassettes between the handle and the mirror as shown below. Note how fast the mirror spins. MIRROR HANDLE Now try the two medium and small pulley cassettes, as shown below. Note how fast the mirror spins. MIRROR HANDLE Place a tick next to the combination that spins the mirror the fastest. Why does one combination of pulleys spin the mirror faster than the other combination? B-3

5 Station 3: Go to the Pulley Power exhibit. Sit in a chair and use the rope and pulleys to lift yourself up. Now do the same in the other chair. You should notice that in one of the chairs, it is easier to lift yourself up. What is the difference between the two chairs? (Hint: Look above the chairs. The information banner can help you too) Station 4: Go to the Go Go Gears exhibit. Connect a line of gears from the handle to the spinning disk at the end of the table. Make the disk spin by turning the handle. What is the smallest number of gears you can use to connect the handle and disc (including the two already on the table)? Station 5: Go to the Manipulator exhibit (the giant robotic arm). Use the round controllers to make the arm move. See if you can wave the hand or bend the elbow. Next to each arrow, write what the arm does if the controller is moved in the direction of that arrow. What types of jobs can robotic arms like this one do? B-4

6 Station 6: Go to the Energy Machine (the egg moving machine). Turn a handle in the centre of the machine to lift up the eggs and get them moving. Here is a list of simple machines. Tick them off as you spot them in the Energy Machine, and describe the task they do. Gears.. Screw.. Lever.. Piston.. Ramp.. Cams.. Station 7: Go to the Lifting with Levers exhibit. WARNING! This exhibit is a lot of fun, but must be used correctly. Please follow any instructions the staff give you. Ask a friend to stand on the metal circle and hold onto the pole. Lift them up by pulling on the ropes, one at a time. Draw an arrow pointing to the rope that was easiest to lift with. Write Easiest next to this arrow. Draw an arrow pointing to the rope that was hardest to lift with. Write Hardest next to this arrow. Congratulations! You have completed Pathway B. However there are lots of other exhibits to visit. Make sure you see and experiment with them all. B-5