I'd like to jump in here and mention an activity I have done in the past
with physical science students at the high school level. I feel that
girls never get the chance to take apart " things", so I put out a notice
that I would accept whatever "dead" small appliances parents wanted to
donate to the science department. We said we would destroy them, nothing
would be repaired. The activity was to give the students tools and have
them disassemble the things ( curling irons, blow dryers, toasters,
cassette players, electric brooms) looking for all the simple machines
they could find. Some of the girls had never had a screwdriver or pliers
in their hands! The kids really enjoyed seeing what was inside these
things and learning how complex or simple they really were.
As a precaution, I cut off the electrical cords before giving the items
to the students. And they were not allowed to cut any wires to avoid
being shocked by capacitors.
My brother ( who is now a chemical engineer for an oil refinery) and I
always had the opportunity to take things apart as kids. And my son was
two when I caught him going at my sweeper with a screwdriver. I believe
it was the same one he later stuck into the radiator of the old tractor
we had on the farm! None the less, hands on is so necessary--especially
for girls who are frequently still not allowed to do things with tools.