Early Learning Content Standards met

The Children’s Museum of Cleveland
Education Programming Form
Program Title: Inspiring Inventors – Otis Boykin
Staff Needed: 1
Session #: Feb 2013
Duration of Program: 15-30 mins
Created By: Marian Bryant
Age of Target Audience: 4-8
Theme/Main idea of Program:
An introduction to African American Inventors and the invention process.
Children will listen to a story about the invention process.
Children will explore other wacky inventions from the modern era.
Children will make a mock resistor from pipecleaners and beads.
Children will learn how resistors turn electricity into heat and light.
Early Learning Content Standards met:
Social Studies
Strand: Economics - Topic: Production and Consumption
With modeling and support, demonstrate understanding of where goods and services originate and how
they are acquired.
With modeling and support, demonstrate responsible consumption and conservation of resources.
Strand: History - Topic: Historical Thinking and Skills
Demonstrate an understanding of time in the context of daily experiences.
Science
Strand: Scientific Inquiry and Application – Topic: Inquiry
Make careful observations.
Make inferences, generalizations and explanations based on evidence.
Resources:
http://www.biography.com/people/otis-boykin-538792
http://www.black-inventor.com/Otis-Boykin.asp
http://science.howstuffworks.com/resistor-info.htm
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/engin/patentlite/pdf/knob.pdf
http://www.ehow.com/about_5432023_uses-resistors.html
Materials/Props/Set-up:
Book: “I am Inventing an Invention” by Lauren Child / “The Klutz Book of Inventions” by Klutz and IDEO
Props: “Electricity” Steve Spangler kit, lemon, portable items that produce heat or light because of electricity
(toaster, lamp, blow dryer)
Materials: pipe cleaners, pony beads
Advance Preparation:
Read through the book selections. Print inventor’s picture and invention. Make a sample. Read up on resistors.
Introduction (engage your audience):
Hi everyone and welcome to “Inspiring Inventors”.
Has anyone ever heard of the word inventor?
What do inventors do? Inventors create something new, something no one has ever seen before.
An invention is a creation that helps do something new. Sometimes an invention might help do a job
easier (or make life easier).
Inventors can even be girls or boys. The youngest person to ever receive an inventor’s patent was Sydney
from Austin, Texax for a door knob attachment.
Who can tell me the name of an inventor? [Allow time for answers.]
Today we’re going to learn about the inventor that made resistors to tell electricity where to go.
Program Script:
But first, let’s see what steps an inventor has to take to make their invention.
Read: “I am Inventing an Invention” by Lauren Child (This book is about some kid inventors you might know.)
[Ask the children to retell the story of how Charlie and Lola made their invention.]
What steps did Charlie and Lola take to make their inventions?
1. Identify a need or want (or something that would make life easier).
2. Brainstorm solutions.
3. Choose a solution.
4. Research and Plan.
5. Build a Model.
6. Test the Model.
7. Evaluate the Invention.
[Useful vocabulary.]
Invention: something that is created or produced
Process: the steps it takes to get something done
Tool: an object that helps a person to do a job easier
What invention would you make to make your life easier? [Allow time for answers.]
What would it be made of? [Allow time for answers.]
Inventor Spotlight:
Otis Boykin was a scientist that studied electricity. Does anyone know what electricity is?
How do we use electricity? We use it to turn on our lights at night. We use it to turn on our hair dryers and heaters.
We also use electricity to make our food like when we turn on the toaster or the stove (electric).
Otis Boykin made something called a resistor to help electricity get to many places in a faster and safer way.
The resistors help turn the electricity into heat or light. [Show his picture. Show invention.]
Some computers, t.v.’s, and video games use these types of resistors too.
Conclusion/Goodbye (wrap-up activity or song to signal closure):
Resistors tell the electricity where to go and how fast to get there. Think of a pipe that holds water. The pipe is the
resistor and the water is the electricity inside (running thru) the resistor.
Resistors also tell the electricity how much the machine needs in order to make heat or light. The different color
bands (or stripes) tell how much electricity can go thru the resistor.
Resistors are made of metal wire and carbon. The carbon is wrapped around the wire. Then the carbon is covered
in a special liquid called lacquer. The lacquer dries clear like glue and keeps everything in place. [Show a resistor or
picture of the patent.]
We’re going to use pipecleaners and beads to make our resistors. The pipecleaner is made of wire. Wire is metal
and bendable. The beads will be our carbon.
After you make you finish your activity free to look at other inventions in our other invention book. [Hold up The
Klutz Book of Inventions.]