Last year, knowing that I would be teaching Physical Science this year, I started collecting ideas on Pinterest for labs. One of the pins was for making circuits with aluminum foil and Christmas lights from Nitty Gritty Science. I loved the idea and had a couple of strings of old lights that weren't working reliably. I actually started to cut the lights up at the end of last year to be prepared.
I made a basic model of a series and parallel circuit to show my students and then told them to be creative. The kids certainly didn't disappoint! Most loved the process and asked if they could bring the supplies to finish up at home. They worked in class for 80 minutes, and several students had only finished the series circuit, but were still in process for the parallel circuit by the time class was over.
We began by drawing a schematic of their design. Once the design was approved, they got their supplies of a manila folder, 2 brads, a sheet of foil, scissors, several Christmas lights, a 9 volt battery, and tape. They needed reminders that tape is an insulator and to make sure the foil is always touching foil for the entire circuit.
Several parents actually commented about the popularity of this lab to me when they saw me later.
I put together directions for each table of students and also a lab sheet for them to glue into their notebooks.
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