This is a science fair project that I did in middle school. The purpose of this project is to show how the electric chair works and discuss basic electricity - currents and conductivity.

This is perhaps not the most politically correct science fair project, but it definitely gets attention. And although it is more based on presentation than science, most people find it very interesting to learn how an electric chair works.

This Hub is quite lengthy, though some parts are optional. You'll probably want to scan each section to find what you're looking for. Have fun and happy building!

Also, please note that I will be linking to Amazon.com for the materials used within this project.

Please leave me feedback! I would like ideas on how to improve this project. I procrastinated far too much and had too many projects going on at once. If you have a comment or suggestion, I'd love to hear it!

I got mine for 27 cents at a Goodwill. Always check thrift stores first - they're cheaper. However, you can also check local stores to see if you can get one on sale.

Don't pay too much, though, as we'll be messing her up quite a bit.

If you'd like, take a mugshot. You can use it in the presentation of the science project. I cut my Barbie's hair and drew circles around her eyes with a pencil, and well as smudging lip gloss around her face. Barbie had a rough night.

I also made an outfit for my Barbie using scrap fabric I had lying around. This is a very simple thing to do that will help your project become more attractive. I've included a quite awful Microsoft paint image to explain it!

These are the tools you will need to make the chair:

- a piece of wood, preferably less than 1/2 in. thick. You need the chair to be in proportion to Barbie!
- a saw of some sort suitable for cutting wood. Buy mine on amazon.com!
- a drill for inserting wires into the epoxy putty.
- notepad and pencil for taking measurements.
- tape measure.
- safety glasses that fit better than mine.
- wood glue.
- a level for better measuring.
- stain of some sort (preferably dark, like this walnut stain.) or instant espresso mixed with water to form a paste. (I started out using stain, but didn't have enough and moved to espresso paste, haha.)
- a small brush for applying stain.
- FastSteel epoxy putty or something comparable.
- 18 gauge electrical wire.
- any small lightbulb - flashlight bulbs will work best. The base needs to be pretty small!
- find something you have around the house to use for straps. I fashioned some out of an old CD binder handle. I just had to burn the ends together and taa-daa!
- a 6 volt battery, like this one.
- plastic wrap or plastic grocery bags for cleanliness!

You can try to custom fit your Barbie through careful measuring, or you can follow the measurements I made.

Basic chair measurements:
Seat of chair = 1 piece at 3 in. long x 3 1/2 in. wide
Back of chair = 1 piece at 6 in. tall x 3 1/2 in. wide
Armrests = 2 pieces at 3 in. long x 1/2 in. wide
Vertical armrest bases = 2 pieces at 1 1/4 in. tall by 1/2 in. wide
Foot rest = 1 piece at 3 1/2 in. long x 1/2 in. wide
Legs = 4 pieces at 3 1/2 in. tall, 1/2 in. wide

Go ahead and cut these out - I assembled the entire chair using only glue. Just take it in stages and you'll be fine! I've included two pictures of the assembled chair for reference. (Also, try not to worry too much about which way you're cutting. If you cut against the grain like I did, it'll just make the chair look more rugged and scary.) :)

Also don't worry about how straight and professional it looks. People will be impressed that you made a chair at all!

The only tip I can give here it to watch out for excess glue - you can end up with weird spots in the stain.

I started out using small packets of gel stain, but ran out too quickly. I ended up mixing some instant espresso powder with water to form a stain and it worked fairly well. Just be sure to cover your workstation and wear gloves! And if anyone asks you why the stain looks so terrible, politely explain to them that it's not "terrible", but rather "old" and "badass".

You'll want to make sure she's dressed and her head has been shaved, as well! We want this to be accurate.

If you have extra bits of leather, cloth, or nylon cord lying around that will work pretty well! You just need to decide how many straps you would like.

Straps are normally in these places:
- across the chest
- around the wrists
- around the ankles
- sometimes a leather "helmet" is worn to reduce movement and the view of the victim's face, as well.

You will need to build three basic forms out of epoxy putty for this step. You can either use a colored one like I have (FastSteel) or paint over it later with silver. It's up to you! Also, if you have metalworking experience, feel free to use your skills here. You will end up with a much better looking product. I chose the epoxy putty because my boyfriend suggested it and it was the easiest solution. It's also not a conductor, which will help keep me from getting shocked! Yay!

In the next step we'll drill small holes in the putty to allow for wire connection.

Tips for working with epoxy putty:
- keep fingers moist, otherwise you'll end up a sticky mess.
- work will small amounts.
- fashion small pieces and build on them to avoid a piece drying in the middle of you molding it!
- check the dry times on your specific product and work fast!
- be careful when pulling the putty and the plastic wrap apart - make sure the epoxy is completely dry!

For the back of the chair, pictured in pictures 1 & 2:
- lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the back of the chair. This will keep the putty from sticking.
- form a flat piece that covers the top and sides.
- from the flat piece you will build a pipe-like piece big enough to fit your lightbulb inside - try to do it as shown in the picture, it makes it easier!
- also keep in mind that you need to make it thick enough that drilling won't break it.

For the helmet, shown in picture 3:
- cover Barbie's head with plastic wrap.
- place a glob of putty at the top of her head and work it down until the helmet is the size that you want.
- make sure to keep it thick enough to drill through!

For the electrode on the leg, shown in picture 4:
- roll a small piece of putty into a snake, and make sure that it goes completely around her leg.
- place on the leg and flatten.
- try to keep the edges as straight as possible and watch out for bumps!
- you don't have to worry about thickness as much on this one because we can drill right into her leg!

I will illustrate this step using pictures and notes as it's the easiest thing to do. For the back of the chair and the helmet, drill holes as described in pictures 1 & 2. For the leg electrode, drill holes as described in picture 3. You will need a minimum of four holes on the back of the chair, four holes in the helmet (two on top and two on one side), and two holes side by side on the leg electrode.

Four of the wires will be non-functioning and just to show the idea of a closed circuit. The two wires on the back of the chair are the most important and will supply power to the light bulb, so let's cover those first. You will need six pieces of wire for this part, so cut carefully. :)

Wiring the back of the chair as shown in pictures 1 &2:
- insert a wire into the top hole. This will wrap around the light bulb.
- curve it so that it fits the hole and around the light bulb.
- insert a second wire in the lower hole, this will make contact with the bottom of the light bulb.
- insert light bulb when both wires are in place.
- these wires will connect to the battery, so make sure they're long enough!

Wire the helmet to the back of the chair as shown in picture 3:
- these wires are just for show, and are only a couple of inches long.

Wire the side of the helmet to the leg electrode as shown in picture 4:
- yet again, these wires are just for show.
- make sure they're long enough to arc out away from the chair and Barbie's body.

Picture 5 shows the length of the "just for show" wires, for reference.

Well, not really. Sadly Barbie is not a good conductor (and because she's jointed, it makes it almost impossible to fill her with something conductive. Blah!) and there's not much to see here. For this reason, we are using the light bulb for interest and to show the current. I suppose you could always let people connect the light bulb wires to the battery and scream when the light bulb turns on. That would be a show of sorts. And you might succeed in creeping them out even more. The possibilites are endless - you could use it as a night light, a finger warmer, a reading light, or just to make your house guests worry about your mental health! So go ahead and turn on your light bulb and bask in the glow of your very disturbing science fair project.