Developed in partnership with Google, the Arduino Science Kit Physics Lab is an Arduino-based physics lab, and is fully compatible with Arduino Science Journal available on Android, iOS, and Chromebook.
The Arduino Education Science Kit Physics Lab provides middle schoolers (ages 11 to 14) with a hands-on experience, enabling them to explore forces, motion, and conductivity with their classmates. Students can make their own hypothesis like a real scientist, check their assumptions, and log data thanks to the Arduino Science Journal app — a digital notebook for conducting and documenting science experiments using the unique capabilities of students’ own devices.
The kit, based on the Arduino MKR WiFi 1010, includes a range of sensors to measure light, temperature, motion, and magnetic fields; plus, it comes with a set of props and full access to online course content for teachers and students to conduct nine exciting science projects inspired by popular fairground rides like the Gravitron and Pirate Ship.
This pack serves up to two students with a recommended student-to-set ratio of 2:1. Throughout the activities, students experiment with nine exciting science projects based upon these fairground favorites:
- Electric Fortune Teller: Investigate resistivity and voltage of different materials.
- Buzz Wire: Steadiest hand wins! Build a conductive maze and then try to avoid the buzzer as you guide the loop around your course.
- Haunted House Theremin: Did you hear that? Make paranormal noise with a magnet.
- Thermo Magic Show: It’s not magic, it’s science! Learn about how different materials conduct or insulate heat.
- The Drop Zone: Can you slide faster than your friends? Explore gravity and measure the acceleration of your Arduino board.
- The Gravitron: Scream if you want to go faster! Learn about rotations per minute, circular motion, the force required to spin this ride, and the relationship to centrifugal forces.
- The Pirate Ship: Captain the ship and test the oscillation of a pendulum.
- The Ejection Seat: 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . ignition! Make your board bounce to learn about harmonic motion.
- The Spherotron: Don’t get dizzy. . . . Learn more about potential energy and motion.
The projects featured in the kit have been aligned with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
The Arduino Education Science Kit Physics Lab isn’t confined to the classroom. In fact, students can use the kit outdoors to turn the playground into their very own fairground by applying the concepts they’ve learned to design and test their own rides. With the physics lab, no prior electronics knowledge is required. Students simply upload their sketch onto an Arduino board using Arduino Create for Chromebook, connect their Android mobile device to the board, build their project, and then use the onboard sensor and plug-and-play modules to simulate the ride’s dynamics. Data is transmitted from the experiment to the student’s mobile device via Bluetooth, where the student can analyze and record results in the Arduino Science Journal app or on worksheets.
Everything comes in a handy storage box for future use with all the necessary parts to assemble and conduct experiments.
You’ll just need to provide a few essential classroom supplies (pencils, rulers, and so on) and a 3.7v LiPo battery (not included).