Elena Blogs for a Change

The ball moves down the ramp. It makes a swirling sound as it moves through the funnel.  The dominoes tumble over each other in an orderly fashion. The last one pushes the car. The car spins through the scale. The pin rolls over... and BOOM!! The balloon pops. What causes this chain reaction? It's called a Rube Goldberg Machine, or in simpler words, a series of events that provoke something even bigger; like the example we just had, the ramp, the funnel, the dominoes,.. they all worked together to make the ballon pop. These series of events are called simple machines, which are several working manuevers (in this case 6) each assigned to complete a different simple task. The impact of one is not great, but together, they can cause an expolsion. Here are the six simple machines: Wheel/Axle: Used to carry around heavy mass with less effort Pulley: Uses wheel and rope to raise, move, raise, and lower a load Lever: A rod balanced on a fixed point that can move more wheight effor...

Have you ever been to an LED fashion show? We actually just completed one in our STEAM class, and it's pretty awesome. You go into a pitch black room, with a catwalk surrounded with white lights (so that the participants can see where they're going). Then loud music comes up, and you see these bright lights moving down the runway, outlining clothing, or swords, or accessories. It looks amazing, but it's not that easy to pull off. It takes a while, and whole lot of effort.  Honestly, this project was very frustrating at times. The connection between my wires was constantly breaking and I had to start all over a couple times! But in the end, it was all worth it. ---Here's how to make your very own LED light-ups--- The first step is making a sketch or an outline of your design, including measurements for the wires you're hoping to attach onto your clothing etc. Then, you must sew or tape the wires onto their designated place on your design. Once you're finis...