SEEDS After School Lesson Plan
Instructor: Marc Alderman Number of Youth:
Activity Name: Squishy Circuits Zoo
6-24 4th graders
Date(s): 6/25/14
Objectives
*All students will create a Squishy Circuit
animal sculpture that will successfully light
up LEDS and/or power a DC motor.
Outcomes (include any educational
standards addressed)
Michigan GLCE
P.EN.04.51 Demonstrate how electrical
energy is transferred and changed through
the use of a simple circuit.
P.EN.04.12 Identify heat and electricity as
forms of energy.
P.PM.04.53 Identify objects that are good
conductors or poor conductors of heat and
electricity.
National Visual Arts Standards 4th grade
*Brainstorm multiple approaches to a
creative art or design problem
*Collaboratively set goals and create
artworks that are meaningful and have
purpose to the makers
*Create works of art that reflect community
cultural traditions
Time and Content
One 90 minute session as an extension of
“Electric Scientist” lesson
SESSION #1 (complete this section as
many times as needed)
Preparation
-Make a sample Squishy Circuit animal
using 2 LEDS and a DC motor
-mix Squishy Circuit conductive dough
http://courseweb.stthomas.edu/apthomas/Squ
ishyCircuits/conductiveDough.htm
-mix Squishy Circuit insulating dough
http://courseweb.stthomas.edu/apthomas/Squ
Materials
-4 AA batteries per student or per student
group
-1 AA battery case per student or per
student group
-Squishy Circuit conductive dough
-Squishy Circuit insulating dough
-Variety of LEDS 5mm-10mm
ishyCircuits/insulatingDough.htm
*Note you can also make the dough with the
students as a lesson on measuring,
consistency, materials, and following
directions
Activity Steps
1. Intro
Tell the students that today we will be
making a Squishy Circuit Zoo. Ask them to
think of an animal that has personal meaning
to them or their family. Then ask them to
share their name, the animal they chose and
why. For example. My name is Marc. I
chose a bobcat because that is the Brethren
school mascot.
2. Review
Ask the students to recall some of the take
aways from their classroom lesson “Electric
Scientist”. You should cover:
-conductive
-insulating
-how to light an LED
-how use a battery (or batteries) to power the
simple circuit
-short circuit
3. Project Directions
a. Show the students your pre-made example
Squishy Animal.
b. Show that the body is made of a core of
insulating dough around the DC motor.
c. Show how the “skin” of the animal covers
the body and one of the DC motor terminals.
d. Put two LEDS into a lump of insulating
dough and bend the negative (short) leg to a
90 degree angle. These are the eyes.
e. Wrap conductive dough around the
LED/insulating dough touching just the
negative legs. This is the head.
f. Add a small ball of conducting dough to
the exposed connection of the DC motor
making sure it only touches the insulating
dough around it.
g. Attach the head to the body making sure
that the positive legs of the LEDS touch the
-3v-6v DC motor per student or per
student group
-safety glasses
3b.
3c.
3d.
3e.
ball of conductive dough you added in step f
and the head touches the body to complete
the circuit.
h. After putting on safety glasses, power the
Squishy Circuit Animal with a positive lead
to the small ball added in step f and the
negative lead to any part of the conductive
dough covering the body.
i. After testing the electrical connections the
students may sculpt the animal adding
features like ears, eye sockets, a mouth, a
tail, claws, whiskers, or any other traits
appropriate to the animal being modeled.
j. Put on safety glasses, turn on the power,
and watch the tail move and the eyes light
up!
4. Wrap Up
a. Place the Squishy Circuit Zoo Animals on
display with the student’s name and the
name of the specie of the animal on a label.
b. See student reflection.
3f.
3g.
Student Reflection
Have the students sketch their Squishy
Circuit Zoo Animal in their Electric Scientist
Journal they made in class.
Have the students write two or three
frustrations they encountered and two or
three triumphs they experienced during the
project.
____________________________________
Instructor Reflection
3i.