http://www.teachengineering.org/view_activity.php?url=collection/wpi_/activities/wpi_wire_maze/wpi_maze_joy_act.xmlactivitytext/xmlK-12 Outreach Office, electrical circuitcircuitclosed circuitmazewire

Students gain a basic understanding of electrical circuits. They build wire circuits and pass paperclips through the mazes, trying not to touch the wires. Touching a wire with a paperclip causes the circuit to close, which activates an indicator.

We use circuits every day in household appliances from computers and radios to ovens and refrigerators. One of the most important circuits we use each day is that of a light bulb. Understanding electrical circuits is the basis of electrical engineering. 21.5TeachEngineering.orgS101D432MassachusettsScience1.1 Given a design task, identify appropriate materials (e.g., wood, paper, plastic, aggregates, ceramics, metals, solvents, adhesives) based on specific properties and characteristics (e.g., weight, strength, hardness, and flexibility).68S100A0B1MassachusettsScience3.1 Identify and explain the components of a communication system, i.e., source, encoder, transmitter, receiver, decoder, storage, retrieval, and destination.68United StatesCopyright 2012 - K-12 Outreach Office, Worcester Polytechnic Institutehttp://www.teachengineering.org/policy_ipp.phphttp://www.teachengineering.org/2011-10-257Teacher