This 4-session course explores intriguing electromagnetism concepts that enable modern technologies people use everyday! We'll learn about the technology behind wireless communication, batteries, electrical circuits and energy harvesting devices. These topics are presented in a dynamic way to get kids excited about quantum physics and engineering inventions. 

The course explores the following topics:

Session 1: Wireless Communication Technologies, from Radio to Wifi - Learn about Nikola Tesla's groundbreaking invention of the first wireless radio device, and explore the many ways that we use quantum physics principles in wireless communications, from cell phones to Wifi. 

Session 2: Chemical Reactions and Battery Technology - Students learn how chemical reactions can generate a flow of electrical current, and how electro-chemical battery technology has become one of the most important areas of sustainable energy research & innovation. We'll also build a lemon-powered battery together! 

Session 3: Hands-on Dough-Based Circuits with Squishy Circuits - In this fun hands-on class, students create light-up circuits with conductive dough and learn about electrical resistance, different types of circuits and Ohm's Law.

Session 4: Energy Harvesting Devices - Piezoelectric Materials and the Thermoelectric Effect - Students learn about these 2 lesser-known methods for generating electricity that have exciting potential for harvesting of ambient energy that would otherwise be wasted. We'll see how inventors use these materials to harvest electricity in unusual ways, like people's footsteps powering streetlights and a mug of hot liquid charging a cell phone. 

We also offer an Electromagnetism 1 course, which explores magnetism, magnetic induction electricity generation, photons & solar energy, listed here: https://outschool.com/classes/electromagnetism-level-1-magnetism-electricity-photons-and-solar-power-6jCnSJ2x#us9fIT1FTd
Note: It is not necessary to take the Electromagnetism courses in order, since the foundational concepts are reviewed and explained in both courses. 

The course incorporates physical demonstrations, educational lectures, guided questions and hands-on work by students during class time. The teacher utilizes an inquiry and discussion-based approach so that every student will feel engaged. The course is carefully structured to scaffold complex topics in supported stages, and to provide a framework for understanding how course content is relevant to students' everyday lives.