Day 1

You need just a few items to make this project happen!

1. Playdough, either store bought or homemade.

2. LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes): this set has a ton for a small cost

3. 9V Battery

4. 9V Battery clip connector: this is a nice option, or you can get a bit fancier with a clip that has alligator clips or an on/off switch.

5. Any cookie cutters or tools you might want to help make shapes and textures in your creation!

Follow the video above or the text instructions below to learn the basics. Then get creative and play around! What works and what doesn't?

1. First we’re going to build a few example projects. Along the way, we’ll talk about ways to debug, or troubleshoot your circuit. Then we’d like you to use your imagination to create something fun with your dough, and figure out how to make it light up!

2. Now I always think of a circle when I hear the word circuit. If we make a circle shape with our fingers and thumbs, we can think of this as a “closed circuit.” The circuit is all connected, and thus closed. If we break part of the circle, or circuit, this is called an “open circuit,” and the electricity cannot flow all the way around in order to light up the LED. You can also think about this like a light switch. When the switch is on, or closed, the electricity can flow into the light and light up. When the light switch is off, or open, the electricity cannot flow so the light is off.

3. Let’s start with a simple circuit using two pieces of play dough and one LED. Connect the battery clip connector to the 9V battery. The battery leads, or cables, will each connect to a different piece of play dough and the LED will span the two pieces of play dough. Uh oh! Notice that our LED is not lighting up. There are a couple of reason why this might be.

4. First, we are going to make sure that our pieces of play dough are not touching. Electricity is "lazy" and will take the path of least resistance. Now let’s take a closer look at the LED. See how one “leg” is longer than the other? The longer leg is the positive leg, and should be inserted into the play dough that is connected to the red wire in our circuit. One quick way to try to fix a circuit that is not lighting up an LED, is to flip the direction that the LED is inserted into the pieces of play dough. If your LED is still not lighting up, try a fresh battery. There we go!

5. Next, let’s make a switch circuit. For this, we’ll need four pieces of dough and two LEDs. Make two circuits like we did before, with two short pieces of play dough and an LED connected to either side of the long piece of play dough. Now make a smaller piece of play dough that will act as our switch. You might want to use a fun cookie cutter for this one or just make a ball! connect one wire of the battery connector to the cookie cutter dough or ball of play dough and the other to the long piece of play dough. Using the cookie cutter or ball of play dough to touch one or both of the shorter pieces of play dough should make one or both LEDs light up.

6. Now it is your turn to create something bright! See how many LEDs you can use, or make something cool out of your dough and turn it into a circuit. Explore and enjoy learning about electricity!