This semester, STEMComm was invited to participate in the Latino College & STEM Fair, hosted for k-middle grade schoolers to engage and learn about the variety of science topics exhibited in colleges. It was an exciting opportunity to share and demonstrate what we were passionate about at GT.
Our event for the Latino College & STEM fair was the Amazing Race, for the various activities hosted by members of STEMComm. Each activity involved some action ranging from testing cognitive ability, response time, to memorization. My group, the Citrus Circuit, was the computational media group, and we set up a trivial game and a potato circuit using a simple arduino program to act as the buzzer. We connected the potato to a circuit board, so that when you make contact with the potato, it’ll light up and create a buzzing sound generated on the circuit board. The kids had to use the potato to buzz in to answer the trivial questions.
The simple potato board circuit is much like a potato battery, with the potato acting as a power bank. The potato in that sense becomes an electrochemical battery, or cell. Since it contains certain metals, it will experience a chemical reaction with the acids inside of the potato that then creates the electrical energy that can power a LED light or a clock, and in our case, a LED light. One difference is that our contact with the potato creates that chemical reaction due to the fact that our bodies also conduct electricity, prompting the potato to start the process of turning the LED light on the circuit board. To make a better response, we recommend limes or any kind of citrus because of the amount of water and acidity in them.
The event was overall super successful and went smoothly. The kids had fun and were able to learn something more interesting about science, and even apply what they had learned at school at our Citrus Circuit activity.
