What IS Electricity
How Electricity Works
At Squishy Circuits, we use electric circuits to bring your creativity to life. Our projects combine two types of play dough with different components that light up, spin, beep, and more—all with the help of electricity. If you’ve never built a Squishy Circuits project, you might wonder how it all comes together. Let’s start by discovering how electricity works. Come along for the ride.
What is Electricity?
You may not even realize it, but we depend on electricity every day. From the appliances in our homes to the devices that connect us to the rest of the world, electricity is all around us. So, what is it?
Simply put, electricity is a form of energy or power that allows things to work. And the way electricity works is complex yet fascinating. It starts with basic building blocks called atoms. Atoms are very, very small—about a million times smaller than a human hair—but they make up everything around us.
Inside each atom, electrons move around a central nucleus made of protons and neutrons. These particles work together to keep the atom stable:
- Protons have a positive charge.
- Electrons have a negative charge.
- Neutrons have no charge.
An electron’s negative charge is equivalent to a proton’s positive charge, balancing the atom. With opposing charges, protons and electrons attract one another, while similar charges repel. This attraction and repulsion create a force that can set electrons in motion. When electrons move, we get a flow of electrical energy, or electricity.
Most atoms have balanced charges (we don’t get shocked when we touch things!), but we can create charge imbalances with chemical reactions, magnets, and more. If you’ve ever looked at a battery, you’ve likely noticed a ‘+’ and ‘-’ side marked on it. A battery is a great example of a chemical reaction that creates an imbalance of charge, pushing electrons from the ‘-’ side and pulling them toward the ‘+’ side.
However, electrons cannot simply travel from one side of the battery to the other. They require a circuit—a closed passageway—to flow and deliver power to devices. These circuits are made of conductors, such as metal wires, which guide the flow of electrons through the device being powered, like a LED bulb, before ultimately returning to the ‘+’ side of the battery. This closed path ensures a continuous flow of electricity to keep devices running.
Electricity and Squishy Circuits
Children learn better when they’re having fun. Squishy Circuits embraces this idea by using hands-on projects and components to teach kids about engineering concepts, spark problem-solving skills, and encourage curiosity.
As we’ve learned, electricity is the flow of electrons. With Squishy Circuits, it all starts with the battery holder or power hub. This provides the electrons, which flow through conductive dough—a special dough that can carry electricity because of its salt and water content. The electricity then powers LEDs, motors, buzzers, and more!
With these materials, young inventors can follow step-by-step instructions to build exciting projects or unleash their creativity to design something entirely new. The best part? There’s no wrong way to create with Squishy Circuits! By completing the circuit within a project, kids can bring their imaginative designs to life, all while learning how electricity works.
Ready to Get Started?
Now that you know the basics of how electricity works, you’re ready to get started with Squishy Circuits! Our projects let kids learn at their own pace while building, inventing, experimenting, and having fun. Young inventors can build a knowledge base around science, technology, engineering, and mathematics while finding answers to their questions—and asking more questions that lead to more experiments. Learning with Squishy Circuits is a cyclical loop, just like a circuit! Find out more about our kits and components so you can start conducting your own experiments.