Hurricane Survival Kit: Exploring Circuits Project

This was definitely one of my favorite projects! I must give credit and thanks to my brilliant engineer husband who thought of this project and brilliant engineer brother who helped me fine tune the requirements. The kids really got into this project, especially since it was hurricane season when we did it! The groups were slightly larger than normal (groups of 5) because lack of materials I could provide for the circuits. For our project launch, I recruited one of the local news station meteorologists, Alan Holt, to come talk to the kids about what hurricanes are, how to use a hurricane tracking map, and some safety tips to keep in mind. Here I am with Alan (The tall, skinny one on the left!)




The kids were FLOORED when they met him. He was so sweet and signed his autograph for many of the students (I have 100!).

The kids were definitely interested after that! Here are the project requirements:

project requirements:

Create an emergency beacon that uses light, sound, and mechanical energy. Include food products that are sustainable and nutritious that don't need to be heated. Include an inventory list of all objects in the kit. Include a hurricane charting map that includes directions of how to use it Explain how the group built the emergency beacon Through this the kids learned about nutritional labels, general nutrition, and how to be prepared for a hurricane! I HOPE the parents were motivated to create or double check their own hurricane survival kits at home!   The most important part of this project was for the kids to learn about the different kinds of energy. To introduce a basic circuit, I had the kids make a complete circuit with a light bulb. Other than that, I dumped materials on the table and the kids got to work! ALL of the kids were so engaged with their hands on wires, motors, switches, and batteries to create the perfect circuit for their "beacon." I had not seen the kids work so well together….EVER….even to this day…..They couldn't wait to build new circuits….maybe I have several future electrical engineers?! Even my VERY unmotivated students were engaged and talking about the project. Here is a picture of some students building a circuit!

The kids did an excellent job presenting their kits and explaining their circuits. Most groups met or exceeded my expectations for this project! Woohoo!

AND it showed….98% of my students  passed the assessment. On the district benchmark assessment, most kids answered all questions about circuits and different forms of energy correctly! Big high five to the kiddos!