Extensions

Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the activity and exploration you just completed.

• Lesson Assessment and Answer Key
• Video and Discussion: Think about how electricity has transformed our lives
• Reading: Can you have too much electrical light?
• Videos: Two helpful videos—and one that’s just for fun
• Activity: Make a lemon battery!
• Challenge: Change your flashlight to make it easy to turn on and off.

Historical footage from the 1930s shows how life changed when electricity made its way to rural America. Watch the video (7:32) and talk about the differences between then and now:

• How did electricity change life in the home? On the farm?
• How did electricity change the lives of men, women, and children?
• Could you live without electricity in your house today?

Electrical lights have transformed our world, making it possible to light up the night. But sometimes there can be too much light!

This article talks about light pollution, a problem that’s making it harder and harder for us to see—and study—the night sky.

• How does a flashlight work? This video shows how electricity makes its way from a battery to a bulb—circuits, switches, and all. (4:41)
• Energy journalist Lee Patrick Sullivan is the animated host of this video, which traces electrical power from its source to its use. (5:18)
• Just for the fun of it! This quirky, thought-provoking power-company ad imagines life without electricity. (1:09)

All you need are a few lemons, some pennies or copper wire, paper towels, and a nail.

This downloadable PDF from The Tech Museum of Innovation includes information on standards, vocabulary words, and ideas for extended learning. (Grades 4–8)

Your light up card works as a flashlight — it’ll let you see in the dark. But you probably want more than that in a flashlight.

Change your flashlight to make it easy to turn on and off. Watch this video for ideas if you get stuck.