Balance Bird
The purpose of a Balance Bird is to give the child a stable, repeatable experience of generating and using a static electric field to move a physical object without touching it. Not touching the bird is a self-correcting control of error. The core element in the piece is the chargeable PVC tube. It is the hand tool we give the child. It is an energized wand. It costs about a dollar. The bird is the object to be moved. The object to be moved could, and from time to time should, also be a stream of running water, bits of tissue, the hair on someone's head or other plastic shapes hanging on strings to name a few.
The Balance Bird set combines the following materials: acrylic plastic, knitted wool, PVC tubing and in this instance, rosewood and oak for the stand. The PVC and wool wand set can be interchanged with glass rod and silk. PVC and glass take opposite charges and so the two together can be used to demonstrate something about the charge on the bird itself. One wand will pull the bird, the other will push. When using wool use a an open weave like an old sweater. Tight smooth weaves will charge the tube but will not crackle. A knitted wool will charge audibly, providing a point of interest and a control of error. If it isn't crackling it isn't charging. The Energy Conversion for charging the tube is, Motion > Electricity. The conversion for moving the bird is, Electricity > Motion.
The bird can also be a Paper Bird or can be made from bamboo. Bamboo reacts very energetically to the static field which can generate disruptive silliness but also a corresponding opportunity for physical self control. The acrylic bird responds more slowly and so engenders a different style of physical movement.
Static charge tends to gather at long, clean edges and so the more complexly detailed the shape of the bird the less responsive it will be. In addition, the use of counter weights in side a shape to effect balance, as is done with one widely available commercial example will also hinder reaction to the wand. So a static bird design should be as simple and light as possible.
The act of balancing the bird on the stand is an accomplishment in itself. The bird also appears in the section concerning the Energy of Motion, as the balance bird illustrating both center of gravity and the damping of energy as the bird slowly returns to motionless equilibrium. Children are fascinated by the fact that the bird stays on the stand. They have to learn to put it there and understand why it stays.
As a balancing object the bird presents a cooperative exercise on circle. One child can hold the stand while another balances the bird. The balanced bird can then be passed hand to hand around circle. The bird can also be balanced on one's fingers, a good hand exercise. The balanced bird can be spun on its stand without touching it by a controlled wave of one's hand in the air. Once a child sets a Balance Bird in motion sitting quietly and observing it until it is still again is another good circle activity, a version of the quiet game, a stillness exercise.
WHERE TO GET IT
Paper birds can be freely downloaded here. The drawings can also be used as templates to transfer the pattern to acrylic sheet by tracing. The flat shape can then be cut out, most easily with a band saw, and bent either by softening as a whole on a simple mold at about 350 degrees in a kitchen oven or by using a cigar torch to bend at specifically softened places. The edges can be left opaque or can be sanded and heat polished with the torch.
Acrylic Balance Birds and acrylic bird blanks can be ordered here. Acrylic blanks afford the opportunity to bend the bird yourself.
Bamboo Dragonfly version can be ordered hand painted here, and unpainted here.
The Balance Bird set combines the following materials: acrylic plastic, knitted wool, PVC tubing and in this instance, rosewood and oak for the stand. The PVC and wool wand set can be interchanged with glass rod and silk. PVC and glass take opposite charges and so the two together can be used to demonstrate something about the charge on the bird itself. One wand will pull the bird, the other will push. When using wool use a an open weave like an old sweater. Tight smooth weaves will charge the tube but will not crackle. A knitted wool will charge audibly, providing a point of interest and a control of error. If it isn't crackling it isn't charging. The Energy Conversion for charging the tube is, Motion > Electricity. The conversion for moving the bird is, Electricity > Motion.
The bird can also be a Paper Bird or can be made from bamboo. Bamboo reacts very energetically to the static field which can generate disruptive silliness but also a corresponding opportunity for physical self control. The acrylic bird responds more slowly and so engenders a different style of physical movement.
Static charge tends to gather at long, clean edges and so the more complexly detailed the shape of the bird the less responsive it will be. In addition, the use of counter weights in side a shape to effect balance, as is done with one widely available commercial example will also hinder reaction to the wand. So a static bird design should be as simple and light as possible.
The act of balancing the bird on the stand is an accomplishment in itself. The bird also appears in the section concerning the Energy of Motion, as the balance bird illustrating both center of gravity and the damping of energy as the bird slowly returns to motionless equilibrium. Children are fascinated by the fact that the bird stays on the stand. They have to learn to put it there and understand why it stays.
As a balancing object the bird presents a cooperative exercise on circle. One child can hold the stand while another balances the bird. The balanced bird can then be passed hand to hand around circle. The bird can also be balanced on one's fingers, a good hand exercise. The balanced bird can be spun on its stand without touching it by a controlled wave of one's hand in the air. Once a child sets a Balance Bird in motion sitting quietly and observing it until it is still again is another good circle activity, a version of the quiet game, a stillness exercise.
WHERE TO GET IT
Paper birds can be freely downloaded here. The drawings can also be used as templates to transfer the pattern to acrylic sheet by tracing. The flat shape can then be cut out, most easily with a band saw, and bent either by softening as a whole on a simple mold at about 350 degrees in a kitchen oven or by using a cigar torch to bend at specifically softened places. The edges can be left opaque or can be sanded and heat polished with the torch.
Acrylic Balance Birds and acrylic bird blanks can be ordered here. Acrylic blanks afford the opportunity to bend the bird yourself.
Bamboo Dragonfly version can be ordered hand painted here, and unpainted here.