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Nov 19, 2010
@ 8:43 pm
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Notes: Testing Functional Prototype with Kids

Location: Table inside the entrance of Lawrence Hall of Science

3 kids. Ages ~3 and 4

3 girls, ages ~6-7

how did you know this was compost “because it’s leftovers”
later, after playing for a few minutes, how did you know this was compost? “because it’s small”
do you know what happens when you recycle? “it becomes new things”
tried to walk her through pictures. she saw the garbage truck but then jumped to the end where it becomes new things
other girl has glass bottle ball. first goes for trash. I asked her where else could it go, and she selects compost. I ask if she thinks it could be something else. She says no for recycling, and I point to the new glass picture and she puts it in recycling

3 girls, ages 10, 10 and 11

how do you know? “sizes”
what happens when you recycle? “turns into new things”
rushing to try to put them in all of the holes. just seeing if they fit, not whether they can be recycled

boy and girl, ages 7 and 7

boy spends time working with Brian to put things in bins
tries to but the hose in the recycling
I ask him where else it could go, and he looks with hesitation ans waits for confirmation from me before dropping it in the recycling

boy, ~age 4

puts one in slowly
2 other kids come by (~ages 4 and 5): “I want to do this” adult says “wait your turn”
younger boy is putting the ball in his mouth (note: choking hazard!)

boy, age 10

first one he tried was puting the hose in the recycling
the ball say there and didn’t do anything, but he didn’t seem to notice that he had made the wrong decision (i.e. nothing went down the tube)
asked him why he thought the hose could be recycled and he said because it can be melted
I walked him through why it should go in the landfill
then he started going really quickly and putting all of the compost in the compost bin.
asked him how he knows “because they are small”
do you know what happens when you recycle? “it gets burned and then turned into something else”
what could we do to make this more challenging? cover up holes so you can’t see them. make balls really close in size but just a little different

3 boys, ages 10, 10, and 10 (friends)

competing against each other’s times
Brian making sound when they choose the wrong one
first boy gets a lot wrong
boys laughing (with him, not at him) when he gets them wrong
taunting each other about their times
other kids crowding around to watch
one kid who had already gone, looking over his friend’s shoulder “matthew’s gonna win. look at the time. oh, matthew probably won”
“It’s actually pretty fun”

3 boys, about 10

puts one in, Brian makes sound. boy asks “is it wrong?” other boy “it doesn’t fit there”
boys all working together to put them in bins
keep asking “who won?”
Brian tells them the last team beat you. boys seem bummed but aren’t interested in playing again

6 kids, mix of boys and girls. all 10ish. decide to play 3 against 3

first group looks carefully at each item
boy “a hose? I think you can recycle” Brian makes sound. boy “Oh I guess landfill”
after first group finished, other 3 lose interest and walk away

one girl, age 10

much more creaful
examines each one
Brian gives her a lot of encouragement after each one
at the end, tells her time is 1 minute 34 seconds, and she says “yay!” (even though she has nothing to compare it to)

Takeaways:

kids notice differences in sizes
balls roll everywhere, bounce, are a choking hazard
timing seemed to be an encouragement, especially for older kids (boys competing against each other)
young kids were excited about the stickers
needs to be impossible for incorrect balls to go down wrong tubes
kids didn’t pay much attention to process information
many knew that recycled things can turn into something else
one kid’s knowledge of recycling made him make the wrong decision (wanted to recycled the hose because it can be melted)
feedback about wrong choices is useful
need a takeaway (brochure? informative sticker?)