DB-PZ-01 · The Building's Senses (BG: Сетивата на сградата)
track
PZ · The Guardians (safety systems for children) · lesson 1 of 8
level
Explorer (use · recognise · explain in words) · two levels: ages 7–10 (grades 1–4) and an extra task for ages 11–13 (grades 5–7)
duration
10–15 min on screen + 10–15 min without a screen (with other children or an adult)
school link
Bulgarian schools hold evacuation drills at least twice a year (Ordinance No. 8121з-647, art. 11); the lesson supports safety lessons and Human and Nature / Technology and Entrepreneurship as a cross-curricular topic
publisher
East Accelerator Foundation (Фондация „Източен Акселератор“) · host: kagami.bg
access
free · no account · no data collected · works offline
Name five building sensors and match each to a human sense: camera → sight, intercom microphone → hearing, smoke alarm → smell, heat alarm → feeling warmth, magnetic door contact → touch
Explain that each sensor notices only one kind of thing and then sends a signal
Find sensors in a real building by looking only, and mark them on a hand-drawn plan
(ages 11–13) Explain that a motion sensor notices the warmth of a moving body
KEY CONCEPTS
a building does not see or smell like a person; each sensor notices one thing and sends a signal
smoke alarm notices smoke; heat alarm notices a rapid rise in heat and goes in the kitchen instead of a smoke alarm (London Fire Brigade)
magnetic door contact: one part on the frame, a magnet on the door; when the door opens the magnet moves away and the sensor notices (reed switch)
sensors are looked at, not touched; the test button of a smoke alarm is pressed by an adult
STRUCTURE
goal → 1 Remember (3 warm-up questions: what is a sensor, the five senses, smelling pancakes) → 2 Story (invented: two children in a new neighbourhood library, 60–90 s) → 3 Worked example (table: human sense ↔ building sensor ↔ what it notices) → 4 Try it (Predict: how does a building see? → Run: match 5 sensors to 5 senses → Change: 6 everyday situations, which sensor notices?) + extra box for ages 11–13 (motion sensor) → 5 Unplugged (sense hunt: draw a plan, mark sensors with symbols, looking only) → 6 Make your own (draw a building with a face; ages 11–13: invent a sixth sense — e.g. a water sensor) → 7 What I learned (3-question check + skill badge, no points) → 8 I have a question (form: the child writes ≤280 chars, the parent enters an e-mail and consents; double opt-in; plus "Was it useful?" / "We did the lesson" buttons — aggregate counts only)
ANSWERS
predict: a building “sees” with a camera
match: camera–sight, intercom microphone–hearing, smoke alarm–smell, heat alarm–feeling warm, magnetic door contact–touch
situations: classroom door opens → magnetic contact; smell of burnt toast in the hallway → smoke alarm; someone says hello at the entrance → intercom microphone; a cat crosses the yard → camera; the kitchen gets very hot → heat alarm; the wind opens a window → magnetic contact
check: q1 b (smoke alarm) · q2 a (the two parts are no longer next to each other) · q3 b (look and draw only)
SAFETY
sense hunt: look only, with an adult; do not touch sensors, do not climb on chairs to reach the ceiling, do not press test buttons
no talk of burglars or fires; positive frame: the building notices and tells people
nothing to buy; no personal data entered or stored; the page works offline
NEXT
DB-PZ-02 · I Sense, I Think, I Signal · back: DB-IS-01 · What Is a Sensor?
SOURCES · LICENCE
link only, facts retold in our own words: London Fire Brigade, Smoke alarms and heat alarms (london-fire.gov.uk) — smoke vs heat alarms; heat alarm in the kitchen; checked 2026-11-01
link only, facts retold in our own words: Wikipedia, Reed switch — magnetic door/window contacts; checked 2026-11-01
link only, facts retold in our own words: UK Home Office, Fire safety in the home (PDF, gov.uk) — monthly test, escape plan, second route, get out/stay out/call, avoid lifts; checked 2026-11-01
link only, facts retold in our own words: Bulgarian Ordinance No. 8121з-647/2014 on fire safety (amended SG 43/2025), art. 11 — evacuation drills at schools at least twice a year; checked 2026-11-01
licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
METADATA
path
6 · social impact
determinant
physical environment
sdg_target
4.7
who_criterion
accessibility
impact_type
prevention · education
DIGCOMP 3.0
framework
DigComp 3.0 (JRC144121, doi:10.2760/0001149)
primary
none (technology-understanding lesson: how safety systems work; no primary DigComp 3.0 competence)
secondary
1.3 Managing information
mapping
proposed 2026-11-01 by the lesson goal · confidence: medium · not a measured outcome
VERIFIED · 01.11.2026AI help: yesreviewer: awaiting teacher and psychologist
The Building's Senses
You see with your eyes, hear with your ears and smell with your nose. But how does a building know what is happening inside it? It has “senses” too — sensors. Today you are an inspector, and you will find them.
⏱ 10–15 minExplorerThe Guardians · 1grades 1–7 · two levels
You will be able to recognise five sensors in a building and say which of your senses each one is like.
For the parent: a one-page guide — questions for dinner and a sense hunt at home.
progress0%
01Remember
Think about each question, then open the answer.
What is a sensor?
Something that notices one thing in the world — light, heat, movement — and turns it into a number or a signal. Remember the night lamp from the lesson “What Is a Sensor?”
What are your five senses?
Sight (eyes), hearing (ears), smell (nose), taste (tongue) and touch (skin). Your skin also feels when it is warm.
How do you know someone is making pancakes before you walk into the kitchen?
By the smell! Your nose notices it from far away.
02Story
This story is made up.
Nia and her brother Bobby walk into the new neighbourhood library. Everything is shiny.
“Look at the ceiling!” Bobby whispers. “There are little white circles up there.”
The librarian smiles. “That is the building's nose. If it smells smoke, it makes a loud sound and everyone knows.”
“And that thing by the entrance?” Nia asks. “It looks like an eye.”
“It is a camera — the eye. And there is a small magnet on the door. It feels whether the door is closed — like your fingers when you touch it.”
Nia thinks. “So the building is like a guardian. It notices and tells people.”
“Exactly. Let's find all its senses!”
03Worked example
Each sensor notices only one thing. Here are the five “senses” of a building:
Your sense
The sensor in the building
What it notices
👁️ Sight
Video camera
a picture — what is in front of it
👂 Hearing
Microphone in the intercom
sound — the voice of the person at the door
👃 Smell
Smoke alarm
smoke in the air
🖐️ Feeling warm
Heat alarm
when it suddenly gets very hot
☝️ Touch
Magnetic door contact
whether its two parts touch — that is, whether the door is closed
A magnetic door contact has two parts: one is on the frame, the other is a magnet on the door itself. When the door opens, the magnet moves away and the sensor notices.
Notice: a sensor does not think like you. It only notices and sends a signal. What happens to the signal next — you will see in the next lesson.
04Try it now
1 · Predict
A building has no eyes like yours. What does it “see” with? Choose before you check.
2 · Run: match the sensor to the sense
This is a game. Tap a sensor on the left, then the sense it is like.
Sensors
Senses
3 · Change: who will notice?
Here are six moments from an ordinary day. Which sense of the building will notice each one?
For older children · ages 11–13There is a sixth “sense” — the motion sensor. It does not see a picture like a camera. It notices the change in warmth when a warm body moves in front of it. So it is something between an eye and skin. Think: why do people put a heat alarm, not a smoke alarm, in the kitchen? The answer is in lesson 4.
05No screen: the sense hunt
You need: paper, a pencil, coloured pencils and an adult with you. You can do it at home, at school or in the library. You only look — you touch nothing.
Draw a simple map of the place: rooms are squares, doors are gaps.
Walk around together. Each time you find a “sense”, put a sign on the map: 👁️ camera · 👂 intercom · 👃 smoke alarm · 🖐️ heat alarm · ☝️ magnet on the door.
Look for the green signs with a little person running to a door. They show the way out. Draw them too — you will need them in lesson 4.
Count: how many senses does the building have? Is there a room without any?
For older children · ages 11–13Measure the rooms in steps and draw the map more exactly. Colour the part of the building each camera “sees”.
✋
Look only
Do not touch the sensors and do not climb on chairs to reach the ceiling. Only an adult presses the “test” button of a smoke alarm.
06Make your own
Draw a building with a face. Where are its eyes, ears and nose? Where is the magnet on the door?
Draw at least four senses of the building.
Next to each one, write what it notices.
Give your guardian building a name.
Show the drawing to someone at home and tell them how the building knows what is happening.
For older children · ages 11–13Invent a sense that is missing from the table. For example, a sensor that notices water on the floor under the washing machine. Such sensors really exist. What does yours notice? Where would you put it?
07What I learned
A building has “senses” — sensors. Each one notices only one thing.
The camera is like an eye, the microphone like an ear, the smoke alarm like a nose, the heat alarm like skin, and the magnet on the door like touch.
Sensors are looked at, not touched. An adult presses the “test” button.
A building has five senses. Which of your senses is the fastest?
Check yourself
1. Which “sense” of the building notices smoke?
2. How does a magnetic contact know the door is open?
3. What do you do on the sense hunt?
🏛️
Skill badge: “I read a building's senses” It is yours when you can show someone five sensors and say which sense each one is like. No points and no ranking — only a skill.
08I have a question
Do you still have a question? Write it here. It goes to your parent, not to strangers. Your parent confirms their e-mail first.
The form is loading… If it does not appear, write your question on paper and show it to a parent or teacher.
·Sources
Title: The Building's Senses (DB-PZ-01) · Author: Children's Library, East Accelerator Foundation · Source: original content and original game code, 2026 · Rights: CC BY-SA 4.0.
London Fire Brigade — “Smoke alarms and heat alarms”: smoke alarms detect smoke, heat alarms detect rapid increases in heat; a heat alarm goes in the kitchen instead of a smoke alarm. Checked 01.11.2026.
Wikipedia — “Reed switch”: how a magnet opens and closes the contacts; often used for door and window sensors. Checked 01.11.2026.
UK Home Office — leaflet “Fire safety in the home” (PDF): test smoke alarms at least monthly; plan an escape route and a second route; “get out, stay out and call”; avoid lifts. Checked 01.11.2026.
Bulgarian Ordinance No. 8121з-647 of 2014 on fire safety rules (text on the MRRB website, in Bulgarian; amended 2025), art. 11: schools and kindergartens hold an evacuation drill at least twice a year. Checked 01.11.2026.
Licence:CC BY-SA 4.0 · Children's Library, East Accelerator Foundation, 2026. You may share and adapt this lesson if you credit the author and keep the same licence. Learning is free forever.
