Beginning Circuits Activities for Kids that are Easy to Implement!

Paper Circuit fun with Chibi Lights

I just adore Snap Circuits, but occasionally it's nice to keep a project together to take home or create something, like a card, to send to someone else. In these cases, paper circuits are a great option!

Disclaimer: Please note that Chibitronics did send me kits to review, but the opinions expressed are completely my own. I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website. Your purchase helps support my work in bringing you downloads of value and information about educational resources. The links below are Amazon affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure here.

What is the Chibi Lights Kit good for?

I think this kit is best suited for a holiday or birthday gift. It is a great way to encourage a child who is either crafty or interested in circuits (or both!). This is also a good option for Makerspaces that host afterschool or weekend enrichment classes, provided they can charge enough to cover the cost. It would be a great activity near the holidays to create a special card or display as a gift.

What is the Chibi Lights Kit NOT good for?

A classroom setting, unless you have been awarded a grant and have a special project in mind (or if you can charge a fee). It would be too costly otherwise.

 Things we liked about the Chibitronics Sticker Circuit Kit

• Easy to read, learn, and use. After unpacking the box, we had built our first circuit within minutes. You can't get much easier than that for implementation!
• The booklet includes fun activities that are engaging for kids. It also includes thorough and useful background information needed to understand and complete the projects.
• All of the components that are needed for the basic projects are provided.

A few things we thought could be better:

• Two times, we thought we made our circuit wrong because it wasn't working quite right. Unfortunately as is sometimes the case with electrical components, the LEDs were just not good. This happens with regular (large) LEDs too sometimes, but we wonder if it happens more often with the tiny LEDs. Switching out the LEDs proved that that was the issue but it was a little hard to debug. It's also possible we got a bad batch.
• The copper tape tears really easily. That is why I am recommending this for ages 10+ unless you have a very careful child.
• The one-time use factor. We knew this going in, but it would be nice to at least reuse the LEDs somehow. 

All in all, I think this is a great kit to expose kids to circuits. The guidebook/sketchbook was much better than I was expecting and is very much worth it for the educational component. The kids get excited when they see their circuit working!

You can purchase the Chibi Lights Kit here:



or find examples of projects to try by clicking this link to go to the Chibitronics Gallery.

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Wind Powered Sailboat - Spring STEM Challenge

STEM Challenge for Spring: Harness the Wind with a Sailboat

A multifaceted STEM challenge that can be done outside on a nice day!

Warning: You May Get Wet with this STEM Challenge

Why try this challenge? In addition to creating something that is useful, students will be honing their spacial reasoning and mathematics skills while designing and creating their garden box. It may even inspire your students to create a full sized garden bed where they can plant their favorite flowers, plants, or vegetables. 

Tie it in to a Read Aloud

If you love STEM books as much as I do, this is the perfect book to read before doing a wind-focused STEM challenge (affiliate links - read disclosure here):

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (picture book)

 

or go more in depth with the full story: 

 

Gather Materials for Sailboat STEM

First, gather all materials needed for the challenge:

You will need a tub, storage bin, kiddie pool, etc. for this challenge. You will also need a desk fan to supply the wind. Please use caution operating the fan near the water. You can partition the container to have racing lanes if you want to let your students race the boats. I used a piece of pipe insulation. Students can create their boats with aluminum foil, Popsicle sticks, plastic egg carton pieces, etc. They will need to use material for a sail and mount it to their boat. Not only does the boat need to float, it also needs to move forward with the wind.

Go Deeper with Science in this STEM Challenge

Have your students research drag and buoyancy. Ask:

Where is drag advantageous, and when do engineers try to avoid it? 

When might you want a water vessel to NOT be buoyant?


What skills do students work on? In addition to following the Engineering Design Process to complete this challenge, students will need to work together and may need to make several modifications to improve their sail designs.

Add more rigor into this activity with the STEM challenge resource (or get the pack of Spring STEM challenges) on Teachers pay Teachers:

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Garden Planter STEM Challenge for Spring

STEM Challenge for Spring: Garden Planter Box

A math-intensive STEM challenge that can be useful when planning out a school or home garden.

Practical Skills with STEM

Why try this challenge? In addition to creating something that is useful, students will be honing their spacial reasoning and mathematics skills while designing and creating their garden box. It may even inspire your students to create a full sized garden bed where they can plant their favorite flowers, plants, or vegetables.

Gather Materials for Garden Planter STEM

First, gather all materials needed for the challenge:

You can use items like card stock, paper, and tape, or have students use building bricks or blocks. If you want to have them make a scale model, set a scale for them that make sense based on the materials you have. You can even procure seed packets or find directions online for the appropriate spacing of their seedlings and how many they can fit in their box.

Go Deeper with Math in this STEM Challenge

Have your students explore using a fixed set of materials. Is there an optimal configuration to support the number of seedlings and garden planter box size? Are there configurations that would make more sense in real life? A square is the most efficient area you can get with a fixed perimeter, but would that make it difficult to rid the garden box of weeds or harvest vegetables? These are all considerations your students can think about.

What skills do students work on? In addition to following the Engineering Design Process to complete this challenge, they will see that math is important and helpful outside the classroom, as well as work together with patience and perseverance.

Add more rigor into this activity with the STEM challenge resource (or get the pack of Spring STEM challenges) on Teachers pay Teachers:

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