Earlier this month, Heather and I taught a homeschool workshop about taking things apart. In this three-hour class, kids (10-13 years old) transformed cheap toys into new ones. This activity was inspired by lots of people and projects:

• Modesto Tamez's "Modesto Bug" (or Jitterbug: find out more on the PIE Institute Inspiration page),
• Anastasia Ward's toy sculptures: hand-sewn stuffed toys that use the "guts" of battery-powered toys in new, surprising ways (find out more on this site or at MN Artists)
• Karen and Mike's idea of using mini fans to get motors and circuits (check out Scribbling Machines on the PIE Institute Things to Try page

In the workshop, the kids took apart mini fans (the kind with lights in small pastic blades, powered by 2 AA batteries). Before taking everything apart, we took time to make drawings of the circuit inside. Then we pulled out the motor, switch, and wires, and added a new battery holder to the circuit. By adding a gluestick chunk to the motor shaft (attached off-center), the motor wiggles around when it's turned on. The kids used a recycled and craft materials to make creatures that shimmi around in interesting ways. This was a great project for three hours, and was a good way to explore circuits and their parts, and making motion with a motor, as well as to think about how one thing can be used to make a new thing. A project from the toy take-apart class.