Den Mother and Google- the perfect match!

As the den mother in cub scouts, I am in charge of coming up with activities the boys can do each week to pass of things in their scout books. Up to now, there have been lots of crafty things to teach them, and field trips to take them on- it hasn't been too bad. However, yesterday I was faced with the reality that there are things in that book- BOY things- things that boys are supposed to inherently know- things girls don't EVER learn, and may not even know exist! And that I am supposed to teach them these things! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I came across one that said "build a simple electromagnetic machine". Simple??? Lucky for me I speak Google. I was able to pull up a web site where a guy had video'd himself making a simple- yes, simple- electromagnetic engine out of a battery, safety pins, copper wire and a magnet.

The first few I tried didn't work. I couldn't figure it out- I had followed the directions step by step, but it wasn't working. I sat and thought for a minute: although I had no idea WHY it was supposed to work, I knew that it WAS, and that it couldn't be that hard to figure out. I knew the battery was new, and I had gotten everything else on the list exactly as was specified, so why wasn't mine working? I finally figured out I didn't have enough magnetic power, so I added more magnets, and Voila! It worked like a charm!!! I went to the craft store and bought some super strong magnets and they worked perfectly! (the video here is the day after, and all the boys had kept playing with it, so it isn't spinning as quickly and steadily as it was. The battery is dying I think-)

The boys really loved doing it, and I looked like the awesome Den Mother I am supposed to be! (at least in my head!) Girls never learn this stuff!!! I was proud of myself for even attempting it, although my husband made fun of me for not having a clue WHY it worked. "Aren't you supposed to explain to the boys how it works?" Uh... no! I'm just the den mother, duh!" When the boys would ask how it works, I'd just shove another piece of candy in their hand! Yay for cool projects- and for Google! IT saved the day!!!!! (and for me figuring out how to get a video of it with my camera- albeit a little blurry!)