Week three was really when we started picking up speed in terms of the project. We decided to really focus on the waterwheel idea since the Rain Forest exhibit already had a working waterwheel that we could build off of. The Rain Forest exhibit has a earthy theme to it: there are clouds, a glowing sun, light-up rainbows, and tons of water-related activities for the children.
The water wheel can actually be controlled by the kids. While the wheel always turns due to the perpetual flow of water coming from one of the tubes, the kids can push down on a button connected to the waterwheel to make more water come out the other tube and makes the wheel go faster. While at the museum, we had to think about how we would make our idea worth while for the kids. We need to consider repetitive action, manual control, and an exciting end result. We are planning to place some LED lights above the wheel that will have their energy generated by the rotation of the wheel (a demonstration of hydraulic energy). Repetitive action will be encouraged because the lights will turn off and the kids will have to do the activity again to keep the lights running. The more the children push the button, the more water will be poured onto the wheel, and thus the more energy will be generated to light up more lights, an exciting end result. The kids will control the amount of water that comes out through the pushing of the button, an example of manual control. As seen in the picture, the water wheel is a good size, but the kids can't reach the wheel from the sides which will work as a safety precaution. We have many creative ideas regarding the lights that will hang near the wheel. For example, the lights can be like lightening bolts, rain drops, or even just normal bulbs, but the project needs to fit in with the theme of the room. Below is a video of the Please Touch Museum's waterwheel spinning with the perpetual stream of water (without pushing the button).
The water wheel can actually be controlled by the kids. While the wheel always turns due to the perpetual flow of water coming from one of the tubes, the kids can push down on a button connected to the waterwheel to make more water come out the other tube and makes the wheel go faster. While at the museum, we had to think about how we would make our idea worth while for the kids. We need to consider repetitive action, manual control, and an exciting end result. We are planning to place some LED lights above the wheel that will have their energy generated by the rotation of the wheel (a demonstration of hydraulic energy). Repetitive action will be encouraged because the lights will turn off and the kids will have to do the activity again to keep the lights running. The more the children push the button, the more water will be poured onto the wheel, and thus the more energy will be generated to light up more lights, an exciting end result. The kids will control the amount of water that comes out through the pushing of the button, an example of manual control. As seen in the picture, the water wheel is a good size, but the kids can't reach the wheel from the sides which will work as a safety precaution. We have many creative ideas regarding the lights that will hang near the wheel. For example, the lights can be like lightening bolts, rain drops, or even just normal bulbs, but the project needs to fit in with the theme of the room. Below is a video of the Please Touch Museum's waterwheel spinning with the perpetual stream of water (without pushing the button).
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