Technologies K–10 · Years 5–6
A steady-hand game: a circuit that turns a touch into sound
Design and Production (NSW Science and Technology K–6, 2017); Design and Technologies: Knowledge and understanding, Technologies context: Engineering principles and systems (ACARA v9)
The idea
Touching a wire loop to a bare wire course closes a circuit and the buzzer sounds, so a switch can be any two conductors that meet.
Safety card
Hazards
- Sharp wire ends
- Springy wire flicking towards eyes
- Hot cells if the course touches the negative lead directly
Controls
- File and tape all wire ends
- Wear safety glasses while bending and cutting wire
- Keep the buzzer in every circuit path so the cells are never shorted
Note
Low-voltage cells only. Record the activity on Primary School RiskAssess (riskassess.com.au).
What you need
- 1 m of 1.6 mm bare copper or galvanised steel wire for the course, ends filed smooth
- 15 cm of the same wire for the wand, bent into a 2 cm loop around the course
- Pine base 30 cm × 10 cm with two holes for the course ends
- 1 active (self-drive) buzzer rated for 3 V, with its positive lead marked + (it sounds only one way round), and 2 AA cells in a holder
- Insulated hook-up wire, insulating tape, alligator leads
How to do it
- Thread the wand loop onto the course wire, bend the course into a wavy shape and fix both ends in the base.
- Wrap insulating tape around 3 cm at each end of the course as rest zones.
- Connect: cell holder positive → course wire; wand → buzzer positive (+) lead; buzzer negative lead → cell holder negative.
- Test: touch the loop on the bare course 10 times and on each taped rest zone 5 times, and record every sound.
- Draw the circuit with standard symbols and mark where it opens and closes.
- Improve the design using player feedback (for example a harder course or an LED as well as the buzzer) and retest.
What you should see
The buzzer sounds only while the loop touches bare wire and stops as soon as it lifts off; touching the taped rest zones gives no sound, showing the tape is an insulator. The circuit diagram is a single loop: cells → course → loop → buzzer → cells. A buzzer wired the wrong way round stays silent, so its + lead is checked before the test. The learner knows it worked when all 10 bare-wire touches sound and none of the taped touches do.
What changes
This activity lists no variables to change, measure and keep the same.
Common misconceptions
Each of these ideas is wrong, and the activity is a chance to test it.
- A switch must be a bought component (any two conductors that touch act as a switch).
- The buzzer makes sound because it is touched (it sounds because current flows through the closed loop).
- Tape stops the wire from being metal (it covers the metal with an insulator).
Curriculum references
The NSW syllabus outcomes and Australian Curriculum v9 codes this activity supports. They are references, not a verified or complete curriculum alignment.
- Science and Technology K–6 Syllabus (2017), NESA. The syllabus taught in 2026; the 2024 syllabus replaces it from 2027. Code read from the official syllabus document (DOCX) on 2026-09-22.ST3-8PW-STST3-2DP-T
- Science and Technology K–6 Syllabus (2024), NESA. Implementation from 2027, so this code describes the future syllabus. Code read from the outcomes page on 2026-09-22.ST3-DDT-01
- Australian Curriculum v9AC9TDE6K02AC9TDE6P03AC9TDE6P04
Sources
The pages the author read to write this activity.