How many of these items do you already have? We've tried to keep it simple for you by making the majority of the items things most people have within reach (both physically and budget-wise), and even have broken down the materials by experiment category so you can decide if those are ones you want to do.

Don’t be afraid of this shopping list! The materials are broken down by availability and expense, and you can order online. The items in the first list are low-cost materials you already have or can easily add to your next grocery store list. The next lists include mid-priced equipment for more in-depth projects, and the last list of items is appropriate for upper grades.

We’ll be re-using these items for Units 11 and 12 (like motors, lights, battery packs, wires, and electrical components). The materials listed here are for building five different robots (with remote control), six burglar alarms, and a handful of sensor circuits.

Shopping List for Unit 10: Electricity Click here for Shopping List for Unit 10.

NOTE: Radio Shack part numbers have been replaced. Click here for full chart.

Basic Electricity

  • Regular sized latex balloon
  • 1 sheet of tissue paper
  • Fluorescent bulb (borrow the long ‘tube’ kind from your house, or get a burnt out one from the recycling)
  • Plastic grocery bag
  • Wool sweater, socks, or mittens to wear
  • Wire coat-hanger (not insulated)
  • Packing peanuts (about 20)
  • Yard stick (AKA meter stick)
  • Soup spoon (bigger is better)
  • 2 tablespoons dill
  • Vegetable oil (or mineral oil)
  • Lid from a jar (jam, pickle, mayo…)
  • Bubble solution (store-bought, or use our recipe:
    (12 c cold water + 1 c clear Ivory dish soap)

Electric Circuits & Burglar Alarms

  • 2 wire coat-hangers (not insulated)
  • 1 sheet of tissue paper
  • 3 shiny copper pennies
  • 25 large popsicle sticks (tongue depressor size)
  • Brass (use brass fasteners, wood screws or keys)
  • Iron (find two uncoated nails if you can)
  • Silver (‘real’ silverware)
  • Zinc (find two galvanized nails)
  • Graphite (from a mechanical pencil)
  • Baking soda (2 tablespoons)
  • Film canister (or other small container with lid)
  • 2 pcs cardboard (or 6”x 4”x 2” wood scrap)
  • 4’ length aluminum foil (used for several experiments)
  • 1” square sponge square of squishy foam (or thin sponge) that reforms into shape when released
  • 10 small paper clips
  • 12 large paper clips
  • 12 brass fasteners
  • 2 wooden spring-type clothespins
  • 5 unpainted steel thumbtacks
  • Thin bare wire (28g) or rip open an alligator clip
  • 2 index cards
  • Salt (about 8 tablespoons)
  • Skillet and stove
  • 2 clean glass jars (pickle, jam, mayo…)
  • 8 AA battery packs
  • LEDs (Bipolar or Tristate)
  • Neon Lamp
  • Buzzer
  • 3VDC motor
  • 10-20 alligator clip leads
  • SPST push-button switch
  • 1K-ohm potentiometer 
  • CdS cell
  • Red laser pointer (from Unit 9) or flashlight
  • AA batteries for your battery case (Cheap dollar-store “heavy duty” type are perfect. Alkaline batteries are NOT recommended.)

Robotics & Remote Controls

You'll need the parts from 'Electric Circuits' and these items:

  • 6 3VDC motors
  • 7 wheels (tops from film canisters, small yogurt containers, milk jugs, orange juice, etc.)
  • 4 straws
  • 1 long bolt (2" or longer) with nut
  • 2 toothbrushes or plastic spoons
  • 2 blocks of foam (2” x 4” x 6” or larger)
  • 1 wooden spring-type clothespin
  • 20 wooden skewers (for 3 different robots)
  • 1 propeller that fits onto the motor shaft (read over comments below before purchasing!)
  • 2 gears** or cork
  • Plastic soap container (optional)
  • Basic tools (scissors, tape, hot glue gun, and drill with bit the size of the motor shaft)

**If you have trouble finding these parts (ones with ** next to them) just send us an email.

For Advanced Students:

You'll need the parts from the lists above and these items:

Digital Multimeter - You'll need one of these for the rest of your projects.

Air Battery

Alien Detector

  • LED (any regular LED works fine)
  • MPF 102 – buy 2, because these are the first things to burn out in your circuit
  • 9V battery clip and a 9V battery – you should have a spare from the Laser Communicator project in Unit 9 you can use

Tools: Wire strippers, pliers, scissors, soldering iron, solder, stand

Superfast Bug Bot

Tools:

  • Wire strippers
  • Pliers, scissors
  • Soldering iron, solder, stand

Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle

The underwater robot (R.O.V.) is a much larger-scale project than usual. Expect to spend at least 14 hours on building this ultra-cool remotely operated underwater vehicle that swims in lakes and pools.

  • ½” PVC pipe (6 pieces: 1.5” long, 4 pieces 2.5” long, 4 pieces 3” long, 2 pieces 4” long, 2 pieces 4.5” long, and 2 pieces 12” long… total length is roughly 6 feet of pipe.)
  • 2” diameter (two pieces 6” long each)
  • Four 2” PVC end caps
  • Four ½” PVC tees (slip-slip-slip)
  • Ten 90 deg. Elbow (slip-slip)
  • Coarse sand paper
  • Three 1” pipe clamps (U-shape with 2 mounting holes)
  • Three propellers that fit onto the motor shaft
  • Three 12VDC motors
  • Three film canisters (black Kodak canisters work great if you can still find them)
  • Three DPDT switches with a center OFF
  • 30 ft. of “CAT-3” (or “CAT-5”) telephone/network cable (8-conductor or 4-pair, AWG 24)
  • Project box (you’ll need a plastic box: tupperware, soap dishes, or plastic project box)
  • 6-10 zip ties
  • Wire (or plastic) mesh screen, 12” x 8” piece

Tools:

  • Soldering iron with solder
  • Pliers, screwdriver
  • Drill with drill bits
  • Silicone or toilet seal wax (and old mug to liquefy it in)
  • Vaseline
  • Power supply (12VDC car battery or car charger)

Have a question ?

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Comments

19 Responses to “Shopping List for Unit 10”

  1. christyoctavo says:

    JMJ Dear Aurora and friends
    I have a question . We have a couple of good sized ponds and creeks on our property. I was wondering if you have any instructions on building a submersible we can remote control and has a camera which projects to an app or in another form to our phone or tablets. We want to combine it with biology and studies for our property, like fish stocking ponds, controlling plant growths in the ponds etc

  2. susan_markey says:

    Just an FYI, this is what Jameco says for the Digital Multimeter link:

    Part Search
    We’re sorry but the product you are looking for is no longer available. If you would like a replacement suggestion for product number 1928476 then please call us at 800-831-4242 during normal business hours.

    Go back to previous screen.
    Give your feedback suggestions to Jameco.

  3. Thanks for writing! I am actually going to send this to you in your parts packet free of charge, which get mailed out 30-60 days after you join. I can send it to you right now if you’d prefer – just email me ([email protected]) your mailing address. 🙂

  4. Christine Roth says:

    I am buying supplies for the Unit 10 Jiggle Bots project. When I click on the links for the alligator clips and 3VDC motor, I am taken to the JameCo Electronics website (which is great). However, I am unable to find the gear-pulley (mentioned in the video) for the little motor at neither JameCo nor Radio Shack. Any idea where I can purchase one?
    Thank you for your help! Excited to try our first science project! 🙂
    Christine

  5. Dried works fine – I used that int he video. Jar lid is for the electroscope, so either is fine.

  6. Fresh dill or dried dill? Does the jar lid need to be metal?

  7. Shanthi Kalpat says:

    Hi! How can I buy your science kits?

  8. You can get it shipped directly to you from Radio Shack by ordering it online – for some reason, lots of folks don’t see this option when browsing the shopping list. Try this first, but if this doesn’t work, email me directly and I’ll see if we have this one in stock.

  9. christina hendrickson says:

    we are wanting to make the ROV underwater vehicle, radio shack doesn’t carry the 12VDC motor, do you have it to purchase?

  10. Actually, yes – I send these parts to you… but it was supposed to be a surprise! 🙂 My team is still putting these together, so if you’d like us to ship you out a packet now, then use this link and we’ll send you as many as you want. We also put in one gear for every propeller you order as a bonus.

  11. Ramona Moller says:

    Hi! Are the propellers part of the materials to be sent for the e-Summer Camp? If not, how large should the envelope be to fit 2, and would two stamps cover their weight? Do the two gears listed for the robotics experiment have a standard size? I am not quite sure where to look for them.
    Thank you.
    Ramona

  12. Anything with 10-24″ wires will work fine.

  13. Sophia Poli says:

    what size alligator clips do you recomend?????

  14. Hmmm… it seems Home Training Tools keeps changing the type of propeller they sell. Sometimes it’s an airplane propeller, other times it’s a water (boat) propeller. Ok – we’ll send you the one we have in the experiment video when you send us a SASE (include two stamps) and $3 per propeller. Just be sure to let us know how many you want. The props we have work for both air AND water, so you can use it with the Waterbot, Hovercraft, and more!

  15. Oops! We’ve forgot to place a link to Home Training Tools for that part. I’ve updated the shopping list:
    https://www.sciencelearningspace2.com/2010/01/shopping-list-for-unit-10/

    If you send a SASE (use two stamps) to us with a check ($3 per propeller), we’ll send it right to you. (We’re not really set up to handle small orders like this, but we’ll make an exception here.) Send to: Supercharged Science, 585 Luneta Drive, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405. Now you don’t need to spend time driving around searching for it!

    Aurora

  16. Meredith and Xander says:

    Hi! Any ideas on where to find a propeller? This summer we tried using one that came with a Snap Circuits kit, but it didn’t work very well. Thanks, Meredith and Xander