She was in the 3rd or 4th grade at the time and had just learned about series / parallel circuits. Each person in the class was instructed to do a science project based on what they learned. She came up with the circuit idea. I did not build the project for her, but I provided all the parts plus plenty of extras. I never did learn the results.
The resistor in series with the switch is there to satisfy a convergence problem with EveryCircuit when an attempt is made to run current thru two parallel zero resistance ideal wires. Without the resistor, the simulator will stop working and flag an eror when all three switches are closed. Think of the resistor as contact resistance for the top switch.
