Exploratorium AfterSchool Activities


Going Further Try making a coil with a bigger or smaller diameter. Flip the battery terminals (flip the battery upside down). Watch what happens. Try new motor designs. Flip your magnet. See what happens to the spin. Use an additional magnet and place it in various locations. See if you can make it spin faster or stronger (one on top and one on bottom works best). Get a more powerful magnet or use a bigger stack of magnets and see what happens. Attach a very light string to the motor’s axis. See if you can lift, pull, or activate something (like starting a fall of dominoes). Put a disk on one end of the motor’s axel and make it spin. Here are some ideas of what you can do with the disk: Draw something on it. Make a whirling watcher out of it. Make a stroboscope out of it. Make colors spin and blend together. Background Science Circuit Builder Learn how to build a circuit by playing this online game. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/podsmission/electricity Ages: 5-10 How Electric Motors Work See inside an electric motor and learn how it works. http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/motor.htm Ages: 12+ Hands-on Physics See diagrams of different kinds of electrical circuits and learn how circuits work. http://hop.concord.org/e1/e1ps.html Ages: 11-18 Magnetism Learn about magnetic fields and how they work with electricity. http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/Imagnet.html Ages: 12+ Back to Stripped Down Motor videos

Going Further

Try making a coil with a bigger or smaller diameter.
Flip the battery terminals (flip the battery upside down). Watch what happens.
Try new motor designs.
Flip your magnet. See what happens to the spin.
Use an additional magnet and place it in various locations. See if you can make it spin faster or stronger (one on top and one on bottom works best).
Get a more powerful magnet or use a bigger stack of magnets and see what happens.
Attach a very light string to the motor’s axis. See if you can lift, pull, or activate something (like starting a fall of dominoes).
Put a disk on one end of the motor’s axel and make it spin.
Here are some ideas of what you can do with the disk:

Background Science

Circuit Builder
Learn how to build a circuit by playing this online game.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/podsmission/electricity
Ages: 5-10

How Electric Motors Work
See inside an electric motor and learn how it works.
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/motor.htm
Ages: 12+

Hands-on Physics
See diagrams of different kinds of electrical circuits and learn how circuits work.
http://hop.concord.org/e1/e1ps.html
Ages: 11-18

Magnetism
Learn about magnetic fields and how they work with electricity.
http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/Imagnet.html
Ages: 12+


This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0532756. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.