Friday, July 1, 2011

How Things Work (aka: I need a new timer...)

J6 had a delightful little lesson the other day when Dan took apart my timer to see why it wasn't working. Of course, I should mention that he tried the battery first and it didn't help! So, my engineer husband took matters to the next level. You should have heard the gasp and, "That is so COOL!" that came squealing out of J6's mouth when he saw behind the casing!


Dan used the volt meter to do lots of checks- which all checked out. Here he's giving J6 a demo on what conducts electricity- nope not his shirt! The meter says zero.


They even tried the inside of the buttons we push.

and the little circuits...boy did J6 have a great time guessing and suggesting new things to try and R11 contributed her thoughts as well.
All in all a great lesson and activity for J6 the figure-outter. The bad news is that the problem was discovered. The covering over the LED display was chipped in the corner. It turns out that the display is broken- not the electronics. Which means...

...I need a new timer!

1 comment:

Toodlebugz said...

Heather,
That is so cool that your hubby does that. There is no better way to learn!
I just bought a new timer too. Mine keep breaking of getting borrowed with no return. Humm wonder who did that?? Any way I decided after purchasing my FIFTH timer that I would get a watch with one. Let's just say I LOOOVE it. It never gets borrowed or lost and has not been dropped or broken. I am one happy mama.;o)It is a Timex. It comes in so handy even for that morning walk. Just had to share my new discovery.