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At COSI, we're very lucky to have a strong relationship with Columbus's Solid Waste Authority (SWAco).  SWAco has a tech disposal division.  All of the local businesses and offices getting rid of their old computers send them to SWAco.  The Solid Waste Authority brings all of the computers to COSI.  Then we have families and groups take the computers apart in an area of our museum called "Gadgets Cafe."  After the guests are done, we return the disassembled computers to SWAco.  They auction off the old parts and sell whatever is left for scrap.  It's a reUSE before reCYCLE.  It's a really nice symbiosis and relieves us of the guilt of throwing old parts into the landfill.

We do at least one take-apart session per day, which can accomidate 72 people.  (On weekends we do two sessions.)

Inside of the computer, we focus on the most easy parts:

--After removing the heat-sinks, we put ice cubes on them.  (It's amazing how fascinating quickly-melting ice can be.)
*We remove the fans and use batteries to get them to work again.
--We remove some LED's and light them up.
--We remove the motor from the CDrom.  We show how it has little electromagnets.  

These are not guided by our team members.  Rather the guests can do things at their own pace, in their own order.  (A team member notices a family removing a heat sink.  "Oh, I see you've found an amazing piece!  Would you like to know what it does?")

It's one of our most popular 'shows.'

Mathew Vandeneynden
Faculty Leader.

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