Children have a natural curiosity about the way things work. But in today’s high-tech world, parents sometimes struggle to explain the inner workings of everyday items.
Enter “Take Apart Day,” a monthly event happening from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at the Fort Collins Museum & Discovery Science Center in which kids can disassemble electronics, DVD players, telephones, vacuum cleaners and more.
“It’s like unveiling a secret,” says Treloar Bower, the facility’s curator of education. “Kids work in reverse, taking things apart from the outside in to reveal how things connect and go together.”
This drop-in program provides a variety of donated items, from blow dryers to VCRs, for kids to explore. Volunteers — mainly retired engineers and electronics specialists — are on hand to help participants get started. Kids and parents can work together to disassemble the items as far as they can, leaving piles of components that are later recycled.
“Once the kids get done,” Bower says, “things are hardly recognizable as the original objects.”
Taking the electronics apart allows participants to learn about the intricacies of technological cause and effect. The exercise also can open up larger topics such as economics, history and geology. For instance, consider the gold connector points found in a computer motherboard.
“Gold is a great conductor because it is noncorrosive and will conduct forever,” she says. “That can lead to a talk about mining gold and the history of gold in Colorado, which all relates back to the museum in different ways.”
The center’s programs operate with a philosophy of “planned discovery,” allowing participants to guide their own experience. Some regulars attend the monthly event each time, staying the full three hours. Others pop in for a quick visit, spending 30 minutes on a project before moving on.
This particular event provides also an opportunity for intergenerational participation. “It’s ideal for families to do together,” Bower says.
Children of all ages are attracted to the program. Yet Bower notes a slight gender gap with more boys than girls participating regularly.
“We welcome both girls and boys and try to overcome any gender gap that may exist,” she says. “We never assume who would be interested (and) invite everybody to participate.”
Although “Take Apart Day” occurs only on the last Saturday of each month, there are other drop-in programs in the same time slot on the remaining Saturdays, including planetarium shows and live animal displays.
“We want visitors to really dig into something and make new conclusions each time they come,” Bower says. “There is no right or wrong with these programs, just new experiences.”
