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Franklin’s Technology (August 6, 2004, Two)

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Program Summary

Benjamin Franklin: diplomat, scientist, philosopher. Probably best known for flying a kite in a storm, he was responsible in the 1700s for shaping the way we look at and use electricity today.

Just think about electricity and how our lives depend on it. The ability to harness electricity has made our nights brighter and warmer, our days cooler, our food more interesting, our lives more full of fun and entertainment, and our world smaller.

The results of Benjamin Franklin’s curiosity and experimentation in the world of electricity reach across the ages and touch each and every one of our lives daily—unless you live under a rock. It’s no wonder he’s considered one of our country’s great scientists.

Guests

Michael Brian Schiffer, author of “Draw the Lightning Down: Benjamin Franklin and Electrical Technology in the Age of Enlightenment” and professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona in Tuscon Arizona

Related Links and Resources

Smithsonian: Industry, Machines and Electricity
IEEE Virtual Museum -- The history of electricity, electronics
The Bakken: A Library and Museum of Electricity in Life!

For Discussion:

• Can you name three things Benjamin Franklin is known for?
• How did his interest in science overlap his work as a statesman?
• What was Franklin’s famous experiment and what did it prove?
• How does electricity affect your life?
• What do you think might have happened if Franklin hadn’t conducted his electricity experiments?

Activities

Ben there, done that… For an interesting introduction to Benjamin Franklin and his contributions as a scientist, statesman, inventor, public servant, printer and author, check out Ben Franklin Timeline from Discovery School. Students conduct research, write paragraphs pinpointing a contribution, compare, group and analyze their findings. With links, suggested readings and extension suggestions, this is a nice, well-rounded lesson.

Frankly, my dear . . . Benjamin Franklin Teacher Page from PBS has 8 excellent downloadable lesson plans ranging from imagining the impact today’s technology would have on Franklin’s Almanac in “If Poor Richard had a Computer” to the process of inventing from identifying a need and constructing a solution in “Invention Convention”. In “Superstition vs. Science”, students examine some common theories of the time and analyze how these theories compare to today’s thinking, while keeping an eye on superstitions, beliefs and folk wisdom of the colonial period.

How shocking. Get a sense of how one experiment can begin something big in The History of Electronics from The Great Idea Finder. Beginning with Franklin’s exploration in electricity and ending up with the AC motor. With plenty of links to books and websites about electricity this is a good overview.

Charge! For a good lesson on electrical charges and why opposites attract, the Smithsonian Center for Education’s Making Friends with Franklin has students demonstrating how charges behave and drawing conclusions about their findings. And an eye-opening lesson-plan about the role electricity plays in our lives can be found at Now That’s a Bright Idea from the NY Times Learning Archive.

Use the search box below to perform a Google search within any of the specifc sites or general domains mentioned in this Activities section.

Hear the Program

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