Wire Maze

This was our first project for the 2010 Spring semester. The goal of this project was to show the girls the meaning of a "complete circuit." Their first activity was to complete simple mazes on paper. As they did the mazes, they could see how similar mazes are to circuits.

We arrived soon afterward and introduced the main project. The girls were divided into four groups with one or two mentors per group. Each group was given a table top sized piece of butcher group to draw their own maze on. The groups were instructed to draw large mazes with lines that did not cross so that wire could be taped down over the pencil outline. The wires could not be fully connected at the start and finish points of the maze.

After the mazes were built, one battery was attached to a galvanized wire which was attached to a light bulb which was attached to another wire. The girls tried to move the wire along the maze without touching the wire to the maze. If they touched the maze wire, the light bulb would turn on because the circuit was complete. Each girl tried to not complete the circuit for the entire maze. After the groups had completed the maze once, the one battery was substituted for two batteries or three batteries in series. The girls immediately realized that more than one battery increased the light bulb's intensity.

Here is a simplistic pictorial representation of a wire maze circuit:




The goal of this lab was to teach the girls about the simplicity of an electrical circuit. They could clearly see the results of a light bulb, conductive wire, and a battery being in contact with each other. We talked to them about electrical circuits being one of the most common parts of daily life. They also explored the possibilities of pursuing a career in electrical engineering as they grew older.

Our first project was a success! We have attached some pictures to this post so you see how much fun the girls had.