Make A Quiz In A Box

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Now it's time to connect the bulb and batteries. Demonstrate the process while the children work along: Poke the shortest wire and one of the two longest wires up through the cross in the box lid. Then wrap one end of either of the wires around the bulb's metal collar, and fasten it in place with duct tape.

Using long-nosed pliers, twist the other wire into a tight spiral at one end, and tape it securely to the bulb's bottom bump. Push the collar and wires down through the cross to wedge the bulb in place.

Now, feed the long, dangling wire back up through the nearest corner hole . . . and wrap the short-wire end into a curlicue and tape it to the knobby (positive) end of the battery.

Tape one end of the second long wire to the battery's smooth (negative) end, and poke the opposite end of the wire up through the other corner hole. And last, tape the battery itself to the underside of the lid.

At this point the youngsters can turn their boxes over and touch the ends of the long wires together-the bulb will light up if the circuit is working. If the globe doesn't gleam, check the wiring; the lamp connections are the most likely to be at fault, so start there. Once everything is working, the long wires should be taped down to the underside of the lid near the corner holes, to prevent them from being pulled out by over-exuberant testtakers.

The hard part's done now. All that remains is to join each question with its answer: Put one end of a wire between the two legs of a fastener . . . wrap it full circle around both legs . . . and spread the fastener flat. Now repeat the process to connect the other end of the wire to the appropriate fastener in the opposite column . . . and do the same for the remaining questions and answers. (You may be able to save your young friends some frustration by checking the first few links they make, to be sure they haven't become confused while trying to locate the bottoms of the correct fasteners.)

DONE!

With all the paper fasteners connected in pairs, your little ones can put the lids to their boxes in place over the bottoms, to protect the vulnerable innards from mishap. Show the young builders how the bulb lights when one long wire is touched to a question and the other to a correct answer-and then stand back to watch the kids light up with pride as they test their completed masterpieces!

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