Take-Apart Lab

What you need

• Plate or tray, 1 tray
• Paper, 3 or 4 sheets
• Phone, 1 for photos (optional)
• Clear cups, 1 small cup, for screws
• Old broken gadget (unplugged, no batteries), 1
• Small screwdriver, 2 or 3
• Safety glasses or sunglasses, 1 pair per person
• Pencil, 1

How to do it

Grown-up prep: Pick one broken or old item that is unplugged, has the batteries removed, and has no screen or glass. Good picks are a keyboard, a wind-up clock, a toy or a remote. Never use anything that plugs into the wall, a battery pack, or a microwave.

1. Put on your safety glasses and meet your mystery machine.
   Ask: What do you think is hiding inside this machine?
2. Set up your lab bench with the tray, paper and pencil.
3. Find every screw you can see on the outside.
4. Unscrew them one at a time and drop each screw in the cup.
5. Lift off the cover and lay each part on the tray.
6. Sketch or snap a photo after every few pieces.
7. Name the parts you know, like springs, gears, motors and buttons.
   Ask: Which part do you think did the most important job?
8. Work out what each part did by pressing and turning it.
9. Show someone your lab tray! What will you take apart next?
   Ask: Which part was the biggest surprise, and what machine would you open next?

Play it again

• Part hunt: race a friend to find a spring, a gear and a button on the tray.
• Mystery guess: close your eyes while a partner hides one part, then guess what is missing.
• Rebuild it: use your sketches to put the machine back together in the right order.