Circuitry Equipment List

below are some inexpensive circuitry items that i think would go a long way. you can really just hand out LEDs and batteries and ask students to play around with them and see what they notice. Some topics that come up are negative and positive, LEDs only allowing electricity in one direction and not the other (because they are light emitting DIODES, and that’s what diodes do), parallel circuits (more than one LED lighting up side by side on the battery), and short circuits (a wire that touches both neg and pos side of batteries will make any separately attached LED turn off!). You can also make light-up cards pretty easily.

i would aim to have 3 or so LEDs and 2 or so batteries per student per class when you use them… they tend to disappear into eager pockets, get broken and used up with short circuits, etc.

these are cheap LED’s that I like the most: 5mm Assorted LED https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UWBJM0Q/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1https://www.amazon.com/Fulight%C2%AE-Assorted-Colors-Diffused-Yellow/dp/B00SV7U3RO/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1476484508&sr=8-5&keywords=10mm+leds&tag=ada083-20 (they will appear to be clear when off, but really light up with color when they have electricity)

then there are much bigger LEDs that kids love, that are worth the higher price per unit:

10mm 2pin “diffused” (that is, cloudy plastic) LEDs: yellow: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KRHH92S/ref=pd_luc_rh_bxgy_01_04_t_img_lh?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&tag=ada083-20 green: https://www.amazon.com/50pcs-Round-Diffused-green-10mm/dp/B00V34ZR32/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1476484558&sr=8-9&keywords=10mm+diffused+leds&tag=ada083-20

batteries: the batteries i like best are 3 volt coin cell batteries, type CR2025. examples I have bought and liked: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UONTD38?tag=ada083-20

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-Lithium-Manganese-Batteries-Packaging/dp/B00CMQDE26?tag=ada083-20

if you search for CR2025, you’ll see widely different prices per battery, from 25 cents up to $1. It’s definitely a get-what-you-pay-for situation, in that the $1 batteries will last much longer. That’s why I get the cheapest batteries I can find… I would rather students have pretty free access to batteries, and treat them as disposable, than worry about limiting them.

wire:

first thing to know about wire is that it goes fast. it gets used up rapidly.

i like to give students lengths of wire to tape to the battery and LEDs and stretch out the circuit. this is the wire i like best. https://www.amazon.com/Electronix-Express-Hook-Stranded-Gauge/dp/B00B4ZQ3L0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1481221748&sr=8-2&keywords=stranded+wire+spool&tag=ada083-20

You’ll need at least one wire stripping tool, to cut wire and remove insulation off the ends; I like this for quality and price: https://www.amazon.com/Klein-Tools-1011-Stripper-Stranded/dp/B0000302WM?tag=ada083-20 I like to get several and teach students to use them.

instead of regular wire, or in addition to it, you could get some copper tape, which is nice in paper-mounted circuits and light-up cards: https://www.amazon.com/PEMOTech-Conductive-21-8yards-Repellent-Electrical?tag=ada083-20 …just be forewarned that copper tape is tricky to get a strong electrical connection with. this claims it has “conductive adhesive” on the bottom, but that’s not really true… You need to have wires touch each other firmly and not just in one tiny point for the circuits to work.

binder clips:

“small” binder clips are a cheap and useful way to attach coin cell batteries and wires to paper. It’s best if the batteries are placed negative-side down, because the clips may touch both the positive edge of the battery and the top of the battery (so it’s good if those are both positive). binder clips are GREAT bang for the buck. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B9GTBYA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1tag=ada083-20