High Tech Hot Potato
Introduction
How do you make Hot Potato high tech? Add a phone, hands-on prototyping, and some data analysis, of course! In this twist on the classic party game, the “hot potato” is a DIY container for your smartphone to keep it as still (and safe!) as possible. After designing your “hot potato,” load your phone with the Arduino Science Journal app and record the motion detected by the phone’s accelerometers while it’s passed around. Work as a team to analyze the graphs and reduce the amount of motion detected. Whether playing in pairs or a larger group, this activity is a fun and active way to explore designing your own experiments!
Experiment
Create and test a strategy for moving your "DIY Hot Potato" around while recording as little motion as possible on the Arduino Science Journal app.
Subject
Data science
Ages
7+
Time
15-20 minutes
Key Concepts
Data literacy, forming hypotheses, experimentation, defining and testing variables
Want a challenge?
JUMP IN!
Sketch out your design for a DIY “Hot Potato” that would keep a smartphone still and prevent its movement during an active game of Hot Potato!
Want a challenge?
REWARDING & FLEXIBLE
Build your own DIY “Hot Potato” and put a smartphone with the Arduino Science Journal inside. Play High Tech Hot Potato and work as a team to analyze graphs and reduce the amount of motion detected by your "hot potato."
Want a challenge?
DESIGN CHALLENGES AHEAD!
Try to add more players or more phones! How do you have to change the game to keep the results the same?
Love using Science Journal to explore data? Check out our other Science Journal activities here, or explore all of Arduino's Science Journal experiments here.
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