Electricity & Electronics Project Ideas

Rubbing Up Against Static Electricity
A tried and true balloon activity is to rub a balloon on your head to make your hair stand up. How does the rubbing build up static electricity? Do this experiment to see if the number of rubs makes a difference. Read more

Pencil Resistors
Want to know how electrical engineers "trap" the energy in a circuit to make your favorite electrical appliance? Video games, computers, phones, and many other electrical devices use "resistors" in different ways to control the electricity in a circuit. In this experiment, you can make your own resistors out of pencils, and test the effect a resistor has on a circuit. Read more

Which Materials are the Best Conductors?
There are two main types of materials when it comes to electricity, conductors, and insulators. What are they made of? Find out by testing different materials in a circuit to see which ones conduct the most electricity. Read more

Effect of Different Materials on a Magnetic Field *
You've seen that a magnet's attractive force can cause a small object (like a paper clip) to "jump" to the magnet. So a magnetic field can act through the air, but what about other materials? Here's an experiment you can do to find out. You'll need a strong bar magnet, a stack of books, a paper clip, some thread and tape. Place the bar magnet underneath the top book in your stack, so that it sticks out. Tie a piece of thread (as long as the… Read more

How Do Different Materials React to Static Electricity?
When your parents were kids, they probably wore polyester. Static cling was a major household issue! Now everybody wears cotton, which doesn't get static cling nearly as much. Why are some materials more susceptible to static cling than others? Learn how different materials react to static electricity in this experiment. Read more