Electricity Experiences for Motivated or Gifted Learners

Understanding Circuits and Electricity:

• Allow your child some safe, virtual hands-on experiences learning about circuits and how they work with this interactive series of animations and activities.
• Follow this up with some hands-on learning creating circuits and exploring electricity with potatoes! Check out these fun directions.
• There is a wonderful online series to safely using homemade conductive and insulating playdough to create squishy circuits.
• BBC has a number of fun interactive sites about using electricity and circuits as well. No mess, no supplies to get, and no safety concerns!:
  • Using Electricity
  • Circuits & Conductors
  • Changing Circuits
  • Annie’s Circuit Builder
  • An open space to play around with circuits
  • For kids (or parents!) to see an overview of the whole process
  • Produced by BC Hydro in Canada, Hydro to Home is an interactive story of hydro-electric power from raindrops to homes, helping children see the process of getting electricity from reservoirs to houses. 
• There are a number of commercial resources for making your additional circuits, such as Snap Circuits, Toysmith Green Science, or Eco Science. 
• Take advantage of this Scholastic freebie: A Bright Idea - An Electricity Experiment