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Battery Stack

In this activity, learners investigate how to make a voltaic pile, the first kind of battery.

DESCRIPTION

In this activity, learners make a voltaic pile, the first kind of battery. The activity is designed to prompt conversation and reflection about responsible innovation, inspired by themes raised in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein.

JUMP TO BROWSE RELATED RESOURCES
  • Mary Shelly, her monster, and visitors using the battery stack activity
  • Mary Shelly, her monster, and young visitors using the battery stack activity
  • voltaic pile connected to multimeter on table with washers
  • voltaic pile connected with wires to a buzzer held in someone's hand
  • Battery Stack activity components
  • Child with excited facial expression using battery stack activity with adults dressed as Mary Shelley and Frankenstein's monster
  • Mary Shelly, her monster, and visitors using the battery stack activity
  • Mary Shelly, her monster, and young visitors using the battery stack activity
  • voltaic pile connected to multimeter on table with washers
  • voltaic pile connected with wires to a buzzer held in someone's hand
  • Battery Stack activity components
  • Child with excited facial expression using battery stack activity with adults dressed as Mary Shelley and Frankenstein's monster

DESCRIPTION

In this activity, learners make a voltaic pile, the first kind of battery. The activity is designed to prompt conversation and reflection about responsible innovation, inspired by themes raised in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein.

JUMP TO BROWSE RELATED RESOURCES

TRAINING VIDEOS

OBJECTIVES

LEARNING GOALS

  • The primary objective of this activity is to encourage exploration and reflection about responsible innovation. In addition, learners will investigate the following concepts:

    • People are creative! We’re always learning more about the world and inventing new things.
    • It’s important to think ahead as we study science and make new technologies.
    • Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein was inspired by early scientists who studied electricity.

Credits

YEAR CREATED
2017
OWNING INSTITUTION

Arizona State University

FUNDING

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number DRL-1516684. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

PERMISSIONS

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 3.0 United States (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US).
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DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

NISE Network products are developed through an iterative collaborative process that includes scientific review, peer review, and visitor evaluation in accordance with an inclusive audiences approach. Products are designed to be easily edited and adapted for different audiences under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license. To learn more, visit our Development Process page.