We are learning how to make a homemade electrical switch to get a better idea of how electricity works on a small scale. Also, look at my post 4 Weeks Free Physical Science Unit Study & Best Hands-on Ideas.
This activity is incredibly easy.
We’re creating a simple electric circuit and label each part using a kit that includes everything you need but first let’s learn about electricity.
Electricity is like a river of energy that flows through wires, and it brings light, warmth, air conditioning, music, and power in general to our homes.
It’s the invisible force that makes our computers hum, our lights shine, and our refrigerators keep our food cold.
But have you ever wondered where this amazing energy comes from, how it works, and why it’s so important to be safe around it?
Let’s explore the fascinating world of electricity.
Electricity is a form of energy that comes from the movement of tiny particles called electrons.
These electrons are like super-fast race cars zooming around inside atoms, the building blocks of everything around us.
When these electrons get excited and start moving in the same direction, they create an electric current, like a river of energy flowing through a wire.
This current can then be used to power all sorts of things, from tiny light bulbs to giant machines.
WAYS TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY
Electricity can be generated in many ways, using a variety of energy sources. Some of the most common ways are:
Power Plants: These are like giant factories that use different sources of energy, like coal, natural gas, or nuclear power, to create steam.
This steam spins huge turbines, which are connected to generators that produce electricity.
Renewable Energy Sources: These are sources of energy that are naturally replenished, like the sun, wind, and water.
Solar panels convert sunlight into electricity, wind turbines use the wind to spin generators, and hydroelectric dams use the force of flowing water to generate electricity.
Batteries: These are like portable power plants that store chemical energy that can be converted into electricity. Batteries are used in all sorts of devices, from flashlights to electric cars.
Once electricity is generated, it travels through a vast network of wires called the power grid. This grid is like a giant highway system for electricity, carrying it from power plants to homes, schools, and businesses.
The electricity travels at incredibly high speeds, reaching our homes almost instantly when we flip a switch.
When electricity reaches our homes, it flows through wires in the walls and ceilings to outlets and switches.
When we plug in a device or flip a switch, we complete a circuit, allowing the electricity to flow through the device and power it.
BOOKS FOR KIDS ABOUT ELECTRICITY
Next, look at these books about electricity.
I prefer to read living books when we can find them.
5 Electricity Books for Kids Who Love to Read and Be Read To
Learning about electricity is a fascinating subject for kids to learn about. Add one or two of these books to your home library.
Why do the lights in a house turn on when you flip a switch? How does a remote-controlled car move? And what makes lights on TVs and microwaves blink? The technology around you may seem like magic, but most of it wouldn’t run without electricity. Electronics for Kids demystifies electricity with a collection of awesome hands-on projects.
In Part 1, you’ll learn how current, voltage, and circuits work by making a battery out of a lemon, turning a metal bolt into an electromagnet, and transforming a paper cup and some magnets into a spinning motor. In Part 2, you’ll make even more cool stuff as you:–Solder a blinking LED circuit with resistors, capacitors, and relays–Turn a circuit into a touch sensor using your finger as a resistor–Build an alarm clock triggered by the sunrise.
Read and find out about electricity in this colorfully illustrated nonfiction picture book.
It seems like magic! It's not—it's electricity. But how does a light actually work? In this clear and simple book learn all about electricity, how it's produced, and how it can be used.
At the end you'll learn how to conduct safe, fun experiments that will let you generate electricity yourself!
- Size: Battery case: ( L X W X H): 57 x 30 x 13 / 2.24 x 1.18 x 0.51inch.
- Material: The mini bulb is a kind of tungsten wire bulb, made of glass, metal, insulation materials.
- Application: Used for electrical experiments in primary and middle schools/home DIY circuit test.
Start with Science books introduce kids to core science concepts through engaging stories, fresh illustrations, and supplemental activities. When Oscar the kitten finds a tractor in a field and accidentally turns on the windshield wipers, he is full of questions about electricity. Luckily, Bird knows the answers! With the help of his friend, Oscar finds out how electricity is made and stored, which machines need electricity to work, and why we always need to be careful around wires, batteries, plugs, and sockets. Back matter includes an index and supplemental activities.
Electrical engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) was indeed an electrical genius. In language suitable for both young and old, author Arthur J. Beckhard describes all aspects of Tesla’s personal and professional life, including Tesla’s childhood and his education at primary school, at the Higher Real Gymnasium, and at the Polytechnic Institute; his years working for the telegraphic engineering department of Austria, then as an engineer in Paris, and then as an employee of Thomas Edison in America; his substitution of alternating current for direct current—a simpler and more economical method of converting electrical into mechanical energy; his rotary magnetic field, which was used in transmitting the power of Niagara Falls to nearby cities; his independent research at his own electrical laboratories in New Your City; and much more. Originally published in 1959 as part of Messner Publications' "Men of Science" series.
Also, look at these facts about electricity.
5 FUN FACTS ABOUT ELECTRICITY
- The first person to coin the word “electricity” was William Gilbert in 1600.
- Lightning is a natural form of electricity, and a single bolt of lightning can carry up to one billion volts of electricity.
- The human body is a good conductor of electricity.
- The electric eel can generate up to 600 volts of electricity.
- The average American uses about 10,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.
And look at more activities to go with our how to make a homemade electrical switch.
ELECTRICAL EXPERIMENTS TO EXPAND HOW TO MAKE A HOMEMADE ELECTRICAL SWITCH
- Electricity STEM: Lighting Up a Shoebox Tiny House
- Lemon Battery Experiment
- Popsicle Stick Flashlight Activity and Facts About the Amazing Nikola Tesla
- How to Make a Potato Light Bulb
- It’s Electric! How to Explore the Conductivity of Liquids
- How To Make an Electromagnet
- Electricity Hands-On Homeschool Science Activity
- 3 Static Electricity Tricks You Can Do With Your Kids
- How to Make Lightning
- Assessing Electricity with Electric Vests
- How to Make Salty Circuits: A Simple Circuit Project for Kids
- How to Build a Simple Electromagnetic Train
Another fun way to explore electricity, currents, switches, and more is with a Snap Circuits kit.
A simple circuit needs at least 3 things- a circuit pathway (wires), a power source (battery) and load (lightbulb), a switch is also helpful to turn it on and off.
HOW TO MAKE A HOMEMADE ELECTRICAL SWITCH
You will need:
- Electrical Circuit Experiment Kit
- Hot glue gun/glue sticks
- Cardboard or scrap board-optional
First, starting with a kit like this makes it easy but still gives kids a ground up learning experience.
Plus, as they learn to connect each piece and problem solve if something isn’t working right.
To begin with you want to make sure that the end of each wire is exposed, use wire strippers or carefully remove the coating with a knife.
Wrap the end of the exposed wire coming from the battery pack onto one contact point on the switch.
Attach the other wire on the battery pack by wrapping it around a contact point on the lamp holder.
Take a loose piece of wire and run it from the other contact point on the lamp holder to the other open contact on the switch.
Add batteries to the battery pack and flip the switch.
Now if you want you can mount the setup onto a piece of cardboard or wood by attaching the battery pack with a bit of hot glue on one end.
Tack the switch to the side.
Now to add a new layer of learning you can create labels on cardstock.
Have your child place them in the correct spot for each part of the simple circuit.
