Melting Metal for Fun and Profit
This program is a fantastic parent/child bonding opportunity. Learning to solder opens a huge world of inventive possibilities and telling your friends you held a 300 degree Celcius “pencil” is pretty cool. Each child receives a kit that contains all of the parts they need to create an LED-based project. Most consist of a battery holder, battery and 1-5 LEDs. Participants need to solder between 4 and 10 points. Soldering irons and instruction are provided by TinkerTruck but this requires direct and constant supervision and therefore is best suited as a parent/child activity. Parents will learn this skill as well.
* Minimum supervision ratio is based on the children’s ages but is typically 2:1 or 3:1. Pricing depends on staff required to meet these ratios, but parent volunteers can reduce the costs substantially.
Prices begin at $199/group*
* $199/group for birthdays (up to 15 kids), $250/class (up to 25 kids). Additional kids can be added to either package. Discounts for multiple groups/day.
Ontario Curriculum Intersections:
This program can be adapted to emphasize or demonstrate learning objectives in the following broad categories:
Science & Engineering
Melting points of various metallic alloys
Conductivity and electron flow in a circuit
Polarity of certain electronic components
Tool use: soldering iron
Mathematics
Ratios are used in mixing paint viscosity and colours
Geometry is used in describing areas of the canvas (center, corner, quadrant)
For older grades we can discuss the Golden Ratio for composition
Angles are used in describing how to tip and rotate the canvas to make the paint flow
Language
Participants often see images in randomness (Pareidolia) which can be used to tell stories
Participants are often excited to tell caregivers how they made the paintings so an experience re-tell exercise reinforces the process and the vocabulary of the science.