Tag Archives: Kids Science Projects

West Florida Components in the community making LED Throwies

West Florida Components was recently invited to participate in a science experiments fair held in conjunction with the USF Education Department.

Each business staffed a booth where elementary school aged kids along with their families could conduct science experiments. The community event was an opportunity for families to enjoy and see the benefits of science in a fun atmosphere. The West Florida Components station was one of about 18 stations at which participants could interact and have fun with science. The event met a significant need identified at the national, state and local levels which is to increase the scientific literacy of students as a way to improve the local, state and global competitive status of our communities and our country.

The staff from West Florida Components made LED Throwies with the fair attendees. Each family member was given an LED, a 3V battery, a magnet and some tape to put their LED Throwie together. Once the Throwies were assembled, they could toss their Throwie at a metal board to earn points. The families learned the science behind the Throwie and were given additional LEDS to take home to so they could rebuild their throwies and experiment further.

If you’d like the instructions to make the LED Throwies, you can visit our web site where we give full instructions with pictures.

Turn your old PC fans into mini wind generators

pc fanHere’s a great project that you can do either to experiment with wind turbines or to generate some energy! While the amount of energy produced is not overwhelming, this project can sure get your brain moving in the right direction.

The best thing about this project is that you probably already have everything you need lying around:

  • Thick plastic bottle
  • Old PC fan, bigger the better!
  • A few feet of small wire
  • A piece of wood about 1.5″ square and around 20cm long
  • Two lengths of steel tubing that slide inside of each other, about 1/2″
  • 6 Schottkey diodes
  • Epoxy
  • Super Glue
  • Zip ties
  • An old CD

You can find the full instructions including video here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Upcycle-your-old-PC-fans-into-mini-wind-generators/

If you want to have a kid-friendly wind turbine kit that already has all the pieces you need, we sell one of those. Our kits come with full instructions and all the materials needed to try your hand at creating a source of renewable energy – a wind turbine. The kit also comes with different experiments you can try with your wind turbine once it’s assembled. Great project for summer for the kids!