Seven Segment LEDs

Isn't it amazing how much kids notice? And pay attention to?
We had a great conversation about something I never would have thought of introducing to a 5 year old - Seven Segment LEDs!!

Batman was checking the time out on the oven, and after a minute or so, he came and told me, Mamma, did you know there is an "8" behind all the numbers on the microwave and oven? But they are not all lighted up :)

How true! So I talked to him about seven segment LEDs, about how a "chip" controls which segments to light up to make the right numbers.

He totally got it. And then he wanted to make his own number.

He got why they are "seven segment" even before we started making our own numbers :)

Seven Segment LED 8

I cut up the coffee stirrers, and we went to work making the numbers with just seven of them. He was way ahead of the game, after making the numbers, he wanted to see how many letters he could make with them. 
 The "B" looks just like "8", so maybe we should display "b" instead?
 

Seven Segment LED "b"

 
Then we went around the house to check what else uses these LEDs.
Alarm clocks, DVD players, music systems....

One thing he did not ask me, was what LED stands for. When I told him about it, he said with a shrug, I did not know it was the short form of something :)
Duh, of course not, silly mom!

Do  you follow the lead of your child? What interesting adventures do you embark on with your child?


Linked up to:
Link & Learn, Montessori Monday, Eco-Kids Tuesday