Ann Marie Thomas is a mother and faculty member at the University of St. Thomas. She is the director of a laboratory at the school that works with a team of students in engineering design. Ann Marie is a strong believer of hands on education and with her team, looks into the playful side of engineering. One of her recent ideas is teaching about electronics using play dough. She came about this idea while trying to teach her younger daughter and struggling to find the right tools to do so. She used the conductive properties of two different types of homemade play dough to create circuits. One type of play dough conducted electricity while the other resisted it. Students can use simple battery packs and LED lights to conduct simple circuits. The lesson can also be modified by using small motors and microprocessors to teacher older students about concepts such as parallel and series circuits and power loads. This idea allowed her to use simple items found in most kitchens to teach the basics of electricity. It is an inexpensive and simple, hands-on activity, that science teachers can use in their classrooms.
Your review is very well done... enough information to capture the imagination of your audience and encourage readers to check out the original TED preso.
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