I love having a curious kid.
As part of my dryer adventure this week, I had an electrical test meter out. I thought Emi might like to learn about it so I showed it to her. Initially she recoiled, thinking it was dangerous. But then the adventure started.
We then spent 30 minutes wandering through the house testing electrical conductivity of various materials. We tested a graham cracker, a cheese sandwich, a stainless steel fork, painted metal surfaces, a can of tomato soup, the kitchen counter-top, the trash compactor, copper wire, gold and platinum wedding bands - you get the idea. (We couldn't find a potato, which actually gives off a small amount of voltage through a chemical reaction - this idea really fascinated her.)
In the process of exploring, Emi learned about how a light switch works by testing one in the on vs. off positions (don't worry - it wasn't powered). We also stumbled upon an old disassembled computer hard drive on my work bench - a minute's worth of explanation and the kid understood it. Back to electrical conductivity, we tested a drinking glass - no conductivity. So we filled it with water and tested the water - she'll never again question why the swimming pool life guards evacuate the pool when lighting has been spotted.
Along the way, Emi said she wishes there were no such things as dangerous things. But I explained that dangerous things are powerful things and powerful things are good things, as long as they're used carefully and properly. I think there might be a life lesson or two here.
Anyway, it was a pretty random 30 minutes, but we both enjoyed it and she might have something to contribute to science class now that she wouldn't have otherwise. And I can't help but be impressed with and very grateful for a child as curious and random as I am.
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1 comment:
You should explain to Emi what you actually do at work. She'll probably understand it, and then she can explain it to me!
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