Introduction to Circuits

I wanted to expose my son to some basic engineering experiments, and I thought the best one to show him would be about circuits!

What is a circuit the little one will ask?

A circuit is a circular path through which electricity flows. Next comes the question, what is electricity? Electricity is a form of energy that helps power up our devices like lights, fans & TVs.

Let's make a simple circuit to visualize better.

Experiment 1 :

Materials needed:

• Battery holder with wires

• One battery

• Bulb

Steps:

1. Connect one end of the battery with the bulb, and nothing happens, point that out to the child.

2. Next, connect both ends of the battery to the bulb and it lights up.

3. When only one end is connected, it is called an open circuit, when both ends are connected it is called a closed circuit.

4. The diagram below shows a closed circuit on the left and open circuit on the right.

Experiment 2 :

The second experiment comes in because when I showed my son the circuit he asked if he the current can flow through his hands? So I decided to show him some conductors & non-conductors of Electricity.

Materials needed :

• Battery holder with wires

• 1 battery

• Bulb

• 1 popsicle stick

• 1 coin

• 3 Aligator clips

Steps:

1. Connect one side of the battery with the help of an Alligator clip with a popsicle stick and then connect it to the bulb. Nothing happens!

2. Now replace the popsicle stick with a Coin. The bulb lights up!

3. Questions to ask ! What was different? Why didn't the bulb light up when the popsicle stick was connected?

Explanation: It happens since the materials are different. The materials through which the electricity passes are called conductors, and the one's that don't let the electricity pass are called non-conductors!

To-do after the experiment : Go around the house and look for items and find out which ones are conductors vs non-conductors!

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. Meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through & make a purchase.

I used the Sntieecr Electric Circuit Learning Kit for this activity. Here is the Amazon Link.

It was originally $22.99 but there's a Sale going on & they are giving it for $12.99. It is a great starter kit to introduce the kids to circuits!

Have fun!