- Home
- About
- Donate
- Museum
- Workshop@EWM
- School Programs
- Birthday Parties
- Special Requests
- Archived Projects and Programs
- The Whitney Workshop@Home – Summer 2020
- September / October School Holiday Programs 2019
- Summer 2019
- Summer 2018
- Summer 2017
- Election Day 2014
- Holiday Vacation Programs 2011
- Fall Vacation 2011
- February Vacation 2012
- Fall Vacations 2012
- February Vacation 2020: Engineer's Week
- Fall Vacations 2012
- Annual Meeting 2013
- Holiday Vacation Programs 2012
- February Vacation Programs 2013
- MLK Day 2013 Programs
- April Vacation Programs 2013
- Rosh Hashanah Vacation 2013
- Election Day 2013 Programs
- Veteran's Day Programs 2013
- Feb Vacation 2014: Engineers Wk
- Martin Luther King Day Programs 2014
- 'Hour of Code'/Scratch Cont'd
- Fantasy Game Night 2017 – 2018
- Intro to CNC Design and Fabrication
- Earth Week Vacation Programs 2014
- Archived Designs
- Adult Education Workshops 2021-2022
- Fantasy Game Night 2021 - 2022
- Summer 2022
- Vacation Programs 2021-22
- Visit Us
- Contact Us
- Join Our Email List
Vacation Program
- Monday, April 14, 2014
- 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
- Designed for ages 9 to 12
The Italian Volta built the first useful chemical batteries in Eli Whitney's time. A hundred years later, powerful batteries were bulky, so Henry Ford powered his early automobiles with gasoline. Two hundred years after Volta, we are struggling to catch up on battery technology for cars. In the last 30 years, engineers have made impressive progress on batteries for phones and laptops. So big battery progress is likely.
Construct a battery laboratory to make and test safe batteries. Use common metals (zinc & copper) and kitchen chemicals (vinegar, lemon juice, salt). Your lab will include a digital MultiMeter. Learn to measure voltage and amps, what each is, and why they matter. Use a mock up of a Tesla to test batteries mechanically.
Forrest Gittelson is a former apprentice working on a PhD in Chemical Engineering at Yale. Dylan Hixon volunteered at the Museum when he was at Yale. He is a Venture Capitalist who has followed the development of the Tesla.
Forrest Gittleson, Scientest, and Dylan Hixon, Investor