Today was a BUSY day as computer chip designers! GATE parents Paul Zeman and Annie Crozier visited to teach the class about Paul's job working for the Amazon 126 Lab. He taught us about the basics of computer chips and walked the students through creating their own single circuit lighted artwork! 

*Please note that the circuits run on a 3V button battery. The creations were sent home sealed in a duct-taped zip bag in case the risk of a button battery being ingested by a pet or child is a concern at your house. The students know that they may not be able to keep the circuit in tact, and some students opted to not bring the battery home.*

The process took a lot of trouble shooting and got all of our brains working. In the end, all circuits were successful!

After recess and choice time, the students played a random choice game where they selected an random input device (sound is heard, motion is detected, darkness is detected, etc) and a random output device (a door opens, an alarm sounds, a timer starts, etc) and had to think of a useful invention that would utilize that input and output. Then, they used their maker boxes to create models of a smart machine of their design!

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