ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions. ***************************************************************************** On Jun 6, 2008, at 9:00 AM, Joshua Larson wrote: > ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology > Centers > Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related > institutions. > ***************************************************************************** > > It seems to me that the take aparts I've witnessed are more about > mindless unscrewing than anything else. How can a person assess > whether > or not a part is cool if there is no essential usefulness for the > part within the activity? > Josh, Well, better mindless unscrewing than mindless screwing! But, seriously, I think you may be looking at take apart activities through a too narrow lens. It doesn't have to be about reusing the parts in some "creative" way. Simply exploring the insides of things to see how they go together is a fine way to spend an hour - or some good part of a lifetime, as I have done. For some kids, opportunities to use tools are sadly rare. For others, the puzzle of disassembly is a perfect challenge to exercise problem solving skills. And for all, to see how things come apart is the best training to learn how to put things together. Take apart, for example, an old Underhill typewriter, if you have the privilege, or a crashed hard drive, if you have given up on ever extracting your lost data. The value of the parts you scavenge for reuse, in my mind, is far less that the value of the insights gleaned from an up-close look at the marvelous guts of such everyday objects. As for capacitors, there are only a few that hold a high voltage charge long enough be of any concern. The real warning needs to be more general: use caution and good sense about any disassembly activity. Vacuum cleaners, suggested by an earlier commenter, should really be avoided unless you are willing to provide dust masks to all participants. Electromechanical devices can be covered with thick, messy grease, printers and copiers are pandora's boxes of used toner, and circuit boards older than a couple of years have lead alloy solder. I wouldn't put anything out for public take apart unless you already have a good idea what's inside it. Happy deconstruction, Tom Nielsen The Exhibit Guys > *********************************************************************** For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org. Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org. The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html. To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the message SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to [log in to unmask]