Life Among the Elms: Let There be Light

Today we launched electricity with what might seem to be a simple task: take a battery, a paperclip and a flashlight bulb and make light.

Forty five minutes into the project and there were only two bulbs lit. It turns out that the force that powers almost every part of our daily is pretty mysterious. Students worked in pairs planning a trial, sketching it and then recording their results. ("The wire is so hot!" was among the most common.) Eventually, through

trial and error and then attempts guided by their observations, all of the groups created a circuit.

Before we began, we talked about the importance of careful recording as scientists, citing Thomas Edison's attempt to find the right material to make electric lights. Many of the students knew the quotation, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,00 ways that don't work." (I'm still trying to confirm the exact words -- if anyone knows a trustworthy source, I'd be indebted.) If one doesn't keep careful notes, one is never sure where one has already been.

In the days ahead, we'll formalize the discovery we made today -- learning about open and closed circuits, electrons, charges, parallel and series circuits and voltage. We'll also explore the relationship between electricity and magnetism. For right now -- Shhhh. Much of our work will be posed as challenges such as "make a circuit where I can disconnect one bulb and the other one will stay lit." All of the elms could have built a circuit following directions I gave them. The value came from the many ways they tried and failed. Now they really know what a circuit is because they've discovered what a

circuit isn't.

There's also exciting news on our Northfield First initiative. It looks like the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation is interested in working with us on our project. A quick update: the Elms were worried when a rumor circulated that Tiny's might close. Upon further investigation, we've discovered many downtown businesses are closing or struggling. Never ones to wring their hands from the sidelines, the Elms decided they wanted to do something. The posters for local store fronts

are looking great. We contacted the NDDC about our idea and they are enthusiastic. We have a draft petition ready to go and we're going to invite our friends from Carleton, ARTech, Washington Street Academy, and possibly Mr. Cohrs NHS class to join us. We welcome any suggestions you all have to make our project stronger.