Discovery Museum Circuit Blocks
The Discovery Museum in Acton, MA asked me to design new circuit blocks for visitors to use in their maker space. The key design criteria were that they needed to:
Engage visitors in exploring and understanding how circuits and electricity work, both facilitated and un-facilitated
Be easy for young children to repeatedly connect and disconnect, consistently closing the circuits
Be able to withstand the wear and tear of many children and adults using them each day
Be easy to repair
The final design minimizes the amount of permanent connections, such as solder and glue, to make the repair of any component simple, and uses clear acrylic tops to protect the components while allowing visitors to still see them. The acrylic tops are held securely to the 3D printed bases by four screws with recessed nuts. On the bottom, felt was added to keep the blocks from sliding on the tables and to protect the edges.
In addition to the basic components of batteries, switches, and LEDs, I created blocks that integrate potentiometers, solar panels, and speakers. Even if visitors do not know what these components do, by combining and playing around with them, they can create some interesting results.
The blocks have been a big success at Discovery, with both kids and adults spending long periods of time exploring with them. Visitors have started to run their own experiments, such as figuring out where to place the solar panels to change the effect on lights, speakers, and motors, and using them as a switch by covering them!
Each time I visit the Museum, I see them almost constantly in use!
Click an image to enlarge