On this page: Electricity | Static Electricity | Magnets | Batteries | Experiments
electricity
📖 The Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip by Joanna Cole & Bruce Degen. Experience the wonders of electricity with Ms. Frizzle and her class as they travel from a power plant through a light bulb to a series of electrical appliances. As always, prepare to have a blast while learning a surprising amount about electrons, electrical current, and magnetism. – Elementary
🖐️ Snap Circuit Physics Kit Elenco. The hugely popular Snap Circuit Physics Kits gives kids hands-on exposure to the concepts of electricity through both directed activities and free exploration. The linked image is for the 300-piece kit; other versions are also available. – All
▶️ Electric vocabulary from TED-Ed. “We all know the words around electricity -- “charge,” “positive,” “battery” and more. But where do they come from and what do they really mean? Let the history of these words illuminate the physics of electric phenomena.” – All
✏️ Circuit construction from PhET. “Experiment with an electronics kit! Build circuits with batteries, resistors, light bulbs, fuses, and switches. Determine if everyday objects are conductors or insulators, and take measurements with an ammeter and voltmeter. View the circuit as a schematic diagram, or switch to a lifelike view.” – All
✏️ Charges and fields from PhET. “Arrange positive and negative charges in space and view the resulting electric field and electrostatic potential. Plot equipotential lines and discover their relationship to the electric field. Create models of dipoles, capacitors, and more!” – Middle • High
✏️ Capacitor lab from PhET. “Explore how a capacitor works! Change the size of the plates and the distance between them. Change the voltage and see charges build up on the plates. View the electric field, and measure the voltage. Connect a charged capacitor to a light bulb and observe a discharging RC circuit.” – Middle • High
✏️ Resistance in a wire from PhET. “Observe changes to the equation and wire as you play with the resistivity, length, and area sliders.” – Middle • High
✏️ Ohm's Law from PhET. “See how the equation form of Ohm's law relates to a simple circuit. Adjust the voltage and resistance, and see the current change according to Ohm's law.” – Middle • High
static electricity
▶️ The science of static electricity from TED-Ed. "We’ve all had the experience: you’re walking across a soft carpet, you reach for the doorknob and … ZAP. But what causes this trademark jolt of static electricity?" – All
✏️ John Travoltage from PhET. “Play with John’s foot and arm to explore when he gets a zap!” – All
✏️ Balloons and static electricity from PhET. “Grab a balloon to explore concepts of static electricity such as charge transfer, attraction, repulsion, and induced charge.” – All
magnets
📖 What Makes a Magnet? by Franklyn M. Branley. In this Stage 2 Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science book you will explore magnetism through a series of very simple experiments (including making a compass). – Preschool • Elementary
✏️ Faraday's law from PhET. “Investigate Faraday's law and how a changing magnetic flux can produce a flow of electricity!” – Middle • High
batteries
▶️ How batteries work from TED-Ed. “Adam Jacobson gives the basics on batteries.” – Middle • High
Experiments
🖐️ Experiment with Electricity & Magnets. Crystal Chatterton’s excellent Awesome Science Experiments for Kids has a lot of experiments involving electricity and magnets. Electricity & Conductivity: Check out “Conductivity Experiment,” “Paper Circuit Art,” and “Penny Flashlight.” Static Electricity: Explore the power of static electricity with “Magic Spoon,” “Flying Birds,” and “Bending Water.” Magnets: Play with magnets in “Floating Compass,” “Iron for Breakfast,” “Make an Electromagnet,” “Magnet-powered car,” “Magnetic puppets,” “Magnetic pendulum,” and “Magnetic painting.” – Elementary
🖐️ Experiment with Electricity & Magnets. Erica Colón’s Awesome Physics Experiments for Kids has a chapter on Electricity (Chapter 5) and another on Magnetism (Chapter 6). Play with magnetic slime, static goo, and more. – Elementary
🖐️ Experiment with Electricity & Magnets. Van Cleave’s Physics for Every Kid has experiments with Electricity (Unit I) and with Magnetism (Unit II). – Elementary
🖐️ Experiment with Magnets & Batteries. At Steve Spangler Science, learn how to Make a Magnet and how to Make a Compass. Spangler can also show you how to Make a fruit-powered battery and build an Ice Tray Battery. – All
