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Safety Guidelines
As engineers, safety in our workplace and in our designs
is an essential component of our profession. An experiment or demonstration in
a classroom provides an opportunity to familiarize students with these
practices in a positive environment.
When designing experiments for different grade levels consider these
guidelines used by professional educators:
adult supervision should be considered
when heat sources, sharp objects, chemical reaction, cutting
instruments, glass, motion or certain tools are involved.
When designing your experiment
consider whether a child's tiny fingers may be pinched or caught.
For grades K-4, adult supervision is required.
At this level this may mean that only the adult should
handle the heat source (light the match, use the
hot plate), sharp instrument, etc. At the 5-8
grade level, supervision with adult discretion is advised. By
the 9-12 grade, students should be able to
independently experiment using safety practices. The classroom teacher can
acquaint you with the school guidelines and answer any particular
questions.
Mark "Adult Supervision" on your lesson plan as needed. This will be a
reminder to you and an "alert" to anyone you share, publish, or distribute
your lesson.
In this regard, certain instruments, tools and experimental materials
work better with young students (example, safety scissors;
or a blow dryer on a cold setting as an air
flow source versus an electric fan). Suggestions are made in
the list of experiment materials.
If you have any safety concerns review the experiment with the
teacher. Experiments which are dangerous, very loud, or create
sudden intense light flashes should not be conducted. Sudden noises
or motion may scare the students or disrupt your presentation -
so forewarn the class.
Consider whether participants should wear:
safety glasses or goggles; smocks or aprons; gloves.
When using a heat source: avoid loose clothing around the
sleeves and arms, keep long hair tied back. Use
mitts, gloves or pot holders; consider keeping an appropriate
extinguishing device (extinguisher, damp towel, sand) close at hand.