Let the making begin! Sewn Circuits

The new school  year is now half over. Here is an update on one project I have taken on with my students; the Soft Sewn Circuit.

•  Students learn basics about circuits by building Paper Circuits using LEDs, a 3v battery and copper tape.  The paper circuit we created also included making a switch. 

• Students learn basic sewing techniques of threading needle, tying a knot at the end of thread big enough to not go right through the fabric, sewing a basic straight stitch, mastering the responsibility of returning a needle without losing it (I teach middle school-7th and 8th graders are completing this project) 
• I gave students a practice piece of fabric to practice on first.  Once a student showed me their practice stitches making a pocket with their fabric, they could move on to the next step.
• Design Plan -Student's must design and plan their sewn circuit first before receiving materials.
•  Viewing techniques of the original design on youtube at:  
  Parallel Soft Circuit Badge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy-wL5BKweI
  Video created by:  By @missesartech
•  Students will review Mrs. Parrott's Sewn Circuit Help Sheet as needed to complete project (I will post a link to this document soon - it includes all steps needed to complete the project).
• Making the sewn circuit - getting it to light up when battery inserted
• creating the cover design / badge

Here are some images of completed projects:

            

    

   

Final??? thoughts on Sewn Circuits....  I will do this project again.  This is a difficult project. It takes quite a bit of guidance/repeating myself, walking around the room constantly, demonstrations, untangling thread, undoing stitches, et cetera ...  But, I loved seeing my students sewing.  I love to keep moving.  The boys as well as the girls worked hard.  Many times students exclaimed that they would have their mom's sew for them and they didn't need to know how to sew.  We discussed  sewing on that missing button or mending other torn seams.  

Did they learn about circuits?  YES!  I front loaded with lessons on circuits with Paper Circuits with switches. 

My biggest challenges?  Finding the right resistor for the challenge.  A little Ohms Law helped too.Working with steel thread is also a challenge because it is extremely hard to thread a needle with steel thread if the eye of the needle is too small.  I tried to use needle threaders with my students but they would break them quickly.  The second time I did the project with my 2nd trimester students, I purchased needles with large eyes.

Let's keep making!

In my next post, I will discuss the Pneumatic/Hydraulic Machine project taken on by my sixth grade students this year.