The Magic Cube fascinates the youth in Appenzellerland
28 children between 11 and 15 from all over German-speaking Switzerland were able to try out various modules of the "Magic Cube" on 13 April as part of "Digiweek", a holiday offer at the Pestalozzi Children's Village in Trogen (AR). The teaching tool, developed in cooperation with D-ITET, mint&pepper and ABB Switzerland, introduces the basics of electrical engineering in a playful way.
In a relaxed atmosphere and with a beautiful panoramic view of the snow-covered Appenzellerland, the children had the opportunity to solve the various tasks under the expert guidance of students from ETH Zurich. Among other things, they had to rebuild the "SmartGrid" cost-efficiently with cables of different lengths, repair a bridge with the robot arm, or correctly reassemble a microscope.
The morning flew by: 14 young people worked in groups of 2 on the different modules with great concentration and enjoyment, and were not discouraged if something didn't work right the first time. The big moment arrived right on time before lunch: The individual panels began to glow in different colours, and as if by magic, the Cube opened to reveal a small gift for all the saviours of "Elekron".
What the pupils liked most were the "great models", or "the moment when it suddenly worked". Hanna Behles, project manager at "mint & pepper", as well as the student supervisors also draw a very positive conclusion. "Apart from a few tiny technical glitches, we are on the right track and we are happy about the very good feedback from the children today."
As soon as the situation allows it, the "Magic Cube", expanded with further modules, will be used at schools and leisure facilities throughout Switzerland. In addition to students from ETH Zurich, trainees from ABB will also accompany the project as coaches.
Module "microscope" Panoramic view of Trogen Module "Elektron train" Module "SmartGrid" D-ITET study brochure :-)
When all tasks were successfully completed, the "Magic Cube" opened up, as if by magic, revealing a gift for all participants.
ABB sponsored a variety of nice little presents.
Teaching children the basics of electrical engineering with the "Magic Cube"
Lightning has struck the "Magic Cube", a mysterious geometric body, and shut down the entire power supply of the parallel world "Elektron". The task now is, among other things, to supply the inhabitants of the planet with electricity again, to make cars and the "Elektron train" run again, or to repair a destroyed bridge and the microscope in the hospital.
The "Magic Cube" is a new teaching tool, methodically and didactically adapted to the Curriculum21 (Lehrplan 21), which is intended to support teachers in the subject area of "nature and technology". The initial ideas were developed by the Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (D-ITET) together with trainees from ABB. Shortly afterwards, "mint & pepper", the young talent development project of the Wyss Centre Zurich, came on board, developed the ideas further and implemented the learning modules.
external page Magic Cube project page by mint & pepper (in German)