Final Project Initial Brainstorming

Questions for the Museum Trip

Before getting into the questions, I wanted to start out with a little personal anecdote. The first time I went to the museum of science was when I was about 4 years old, and I remember being fascinated by all the different things I could play with and how realistic the movies were at the IMAX theater. I have gone back multiple times after my initial visit, and even as I grew older, there is always something to learn from the exhibits.

For the purpose of this class and the final project, I would like to focus my attention on recognizing how effectively different types of exhibits/demonstrations get their points across to the audience. There are many exhibits that draws the attention of the visitors instantly and effectively teaches the science behind it without throwing in too much technical information.  It would be interesting to get some statistics on the most and least popular exhibits in order to determine what topics/types of exhibits that visitors enjoy.

Most of the time, visitors (especially those of younger age groups) enjoy hands-on activities rather than reading the blurb or watching a video. I realize that it is difficult to demonstrate certain scientific concepts as an hands-on activity, but it would be interesting to think about ways to change certain non-hands-on exhibits to a more interactive and intuitive exhibit that would draw more people.

I am especially interested in looking at the exhibits 'Physics Play ground' (I forgot the exact name), Cahners Computer Place, 'Take a Closer Look', 'The Light House', and 'Making Models'. 


10 Ideas for the Final Project
Even though this is just an initial brainstorm, coming up with 10 different ideas was quite challenging. I have been racking my brain trying to remember all of the different science topics I learned over the years and apply it to the project.

1. Defying Gravity
My first Idea was to have a magnetic object float in space by balancing the gravitational force of the object (mg) and the induced magnetic force from the coil. There would be a light source and a light sensor, and the control mechanism would try to alter the amount of current flowing through the coil depending on whether the object is level with the light source or not. There are many E&M topics that can be learned from this project. 

2. Magnetically Levitated Train
This is another magnetism-related project idea, and it involves a train that moves using the magnetic force of the magnets. There would be a sensor that detects whether the train is above the sensor or not, and if it detects the train, it would allow current to flow in the coil in front of the train, pulling the train forward by attracting the piece of aluminum that is attached to the bottom of the train. At the edges of the train body and on the edges of the tract, there could be same pole magnets that would allow the train to be levitated.   

3. Swings and Resonance
For this idea, I was thinking about how moving your legs in a certain direction allows you to swing higher at the playground while moving your legs in another direction makes you slow down to a stop. This has to do with resonance and damping, and I wanted to create a device that demonstrates both. For example, in order to create resonance (make the swing go higher), the sensor would detect which direction the swing is going and apply a force in that particular direction. If we wanted damping, the force would be exerted in the other direction. I have not really worked out the details of how I would do this, but it was just a thought.

 

4. Regions of the Brain/The Human Sensory System
In order to demonstrate what parts of the brain control the different senses on our body, I wanted to make a model brain that lights up in different colors when certain sensors are activated and provides an action according to what the sensor reads. I was also thinking that I could use sensors besides the touch and ultrasonic sensors by making new sensors that represent different sensory organs on our body.

5. Decoding the Computer Language
A bit is the basic unit of information that can be represented by 0 or 1 in the computer. In order to represent a single bit, we would use a light bulb that can either be turned on or off. On the other side of the bulb, there would be a light sensor that detects whether the particular bulb is on or not. By assigning different letters of the alphabet to different combinations of the light bulb sequence, we can make secret codes and translate then into letters.

6. Plants and Photosynthesis
I was inspired by my biology class and came up with the idea of having a model plant leaf and chloroplast that has humidity and light sensors. Depending on the relative humidity and the amount of light that the plant is exposed to, the leaf would change the number of stomata openings, transpiration rate, and CO2 exchange.

7. The Artistic Robotic Arm
I haven't figured out how to apply this to create an educational experience, but I had the idea of creating a 'robotic arm' holding a pen and use the motors to move the arm around. Using the brightness sensor, the arm would detect different patterns on the floor and depending on what the pattern is, it could move the motor in different amounts and draw something on a piece of paper.

8. Sugar Levels and Index of Refraction
Our body responds to different sugar levels by producing insulin or glucagon. In order to detect the different amounts of sugar in water, I thought I could use the index of refraction. With a laser pointed in the cup with the solution, we could have a sensor at the bottom of the cup and determine how refracted the laser is compared to the control (having just water as the solution). More refraction would mean that there is more sugar in the solution, and we could have a device that spits out insulin if it detects a solution that has a high concentration of sugar.

9. Loop de Loop
This is rather simple and I don't think it could be a project just by itself, but I wanted to put it out there anyway. Using the conservation of energy, we can calculate the initial height of the ramp needed for the cart (or the roller coaster) to go through the loop de loop without falling off. We could have a sensor at the top of the loop to detect whether the cart passes through the sensor. When it doesn't pass through the sensor, the cart must have fallen off before making it through the loop, and the motor that is connected to the loop would adjust accordingly until it finds the perfect height. We can compare this height with the theoretical height to see if the conservation of energy actually holds!

 

  
10. Detecting an Unknown Underwater Object
Lastly, I thought of making a device that can be used to manipulate the ultrasonic sensor above a tank filled with opaque water. Any flat object can be placed at the bottom of the tank and the ultrasonic sensor can be used to detect at what 'coordinates' the object is present and generate an image on the computer to identify the shape of the object.