BackGround:
There are many educational tools teaching about measurements to children, but most of them can help children learn one or two aspects of measurement only. So we believe a new educational tool is needed. The tool should be able to entertain children, make them think about the principle of measurements and wonder about how it is made and how it works. .
Methods:
At first we developed a piece of digital measurement equipment. It can only count up the number of times a light ray from a light-emitting device to a light-receiving device is cut. For safety reasons both the light-emitting device and the light-receiving device are conventional LEDs(not laser diodes), to protect children and adults without training in scientific experiments. After that, we assembled a rotator named “Mawasu- Kun (Rotate-it!)” with the digital measurement equipment and a pedometer as a digital indicator. “Mawasu-kun” costs only about 600 yens (about $8). Last of all, we held 3 workshops to measure how “Mawasu-Kun” achieves an educational effect while the user has fun.
The video below shows how “Mawasu-Kun” works:
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/iHTahYreP-KBBHThNEJxZA
Results:
First, “Mawasu-Kun” made 7 years old children excited when they made the rotator turn and watch the numbers change on the pedometer.
Next children started to make the rotator turn as fast as possible - only for fun. This action made them realize naturally that the measurement system had a limit of detection.
After that, we discussed with the children about how the combination of LEDs' color(wave lengths) will make them to function as light-emitter and light-detector. This action made them realize naturally that the measurement system had to be aligned to work. Finally, they found some interesting applications for the rotation counter, e.g. as a distance measurement system to measure the running distance of hamsters in exercise wheels.
In this video, how “Mawasu-Kun” works is shown:
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/iHTahYreP-KBBHThNEJxZA
Conclusions:
We developed a simple rotator with a digital counter with many educational considerations at low cost. The equipment makes children excited, interested in the use and motivates them to consider the many aspects of digital measurements with very little aid from adults.