10 Projects to Get Started with Breadboards!

Using a breadboard is an important "next step" in exploring circuits and electronics STEM projects. Try one of these ten Science Buddies projects to get to know your breadboard and start building circuits with confidence.

Students who are just getting started with electronics often begin with basic circuits that connect batteries directly to motors or LEDs (like the Bristlebot robot) or are connected with conductive materials (like paper circuits or electric playdough). These beginner projects are fun and accessible and help students learn about series, parallel circuits, and short circuits, but curious students will quickly be ready for circuits that involve a breadboard.

Learn About Breadboards

A breadboard is a plastic board with holes arranged in columns and rows. Today's boards are typically solderless, which means you can push the pins of components directly into holes and then pull them back out, building and rebuilding a circuit, as often as needed. This makes a breadboard a great way for students to explore electronics because they can move components around when designing, modifying, or troubleshooting their circuits. Accidentally placing something in the wrong hole is a common problem, so being able to easily remove and reposition an element is a plus!

The arrangement of columns and rows is what enables the breadboard's electrical connections. Along the sides of the breadboard are the bus strips (or rails). The bus strips supply electrical power to the circuit when you connect them to a battery pack or other external power supply.

The How to Use a Breadboard video from Science Buddies provides an overview of how a breadboard works. The video was designed for students and educators who are using a breadboard for the first time, but the video also addresses technical questions that experienced users and hobbyists may have:

A full companion How to Use a Breadboard for Electronics and Circuits resource is also available to help answer student questions about different types of breadboards, how they are labeled, how the columns and rows work, and more.

10 Breadboard Projects to Try!

Once students understand basic circuits, breadboards provide an easy way to build more complex circuits without soldering. With a few electronics parts and a small breadboard, students can learn more about how circuits work. These projects can be the basis of a school science project or can be explored at home. For educators, breadboard projects work well for individual students or small groups in classrooms and out-of-school programs.

The following ten projects are intermediate electronics projects that use a breadboard:

1. Build a Simple Steerable Robot (➡️ Video): Build a steerable robot with a wired remote control.
2. Build a Light-Tracking Bristlebot (➡️ Video): Build a small toothbrush-head robot that can follow a light. (This is one of two projects you can do with the Bristlebot Kit.)
3. Engineer an LED Night-Light (➡️ Video): Build a small nightlight that turns on automatically in low light and design a body or housing for it, too. (A DIY Night-Light Kit is available.)
4. Flippy, the Dancing Robot (➡️ Video): Build a robot that flips, tumbles, and dances. Then use the engineering design process to improve the design.
5. Build an Electronic Soil Moisture Sensor to Conserve Water (➡️ Video): Make it easier to take care of your plants by building a simple circuit that indicates whether soil is wet or dry. (For a creative seasonal spin on the project, see Build a Water Sensor Circuit for the Tree. The Electronic Sensors Kit can be used for this project.)
6. Build a Solar-Powered Bristlebot: Build a robot that can operate on either battery or solar power as part of an exploration of alternative energy. (This is one of two projects you can do with the Advanced Bristlebots Kit.)
7. Human-Powered Energy: Explore the concepts behind shake-powered products (like flashlights) and build a small hand-powered electrical generator that can power a series of tiny lights. (The Shaking Up Some Energy Kit can be used for this project.)
8. Build a Motion-Activated Guard Robot (BlueBot Project #1) (➡️ Video): First in a series of four BlueBot projects, this project involves a robot that uses a motion-detecting sensor. (All BlueBot projects require the BlueBot 4-in-1 Robotics Kit. To learn more about BlueBot projects, including projects that incorporate Arduino, see 10+ Robotics Projects with the BlueBot Kit.)
9. Build Statues That Come Alive When They See You (➡️ Video): Use a circuit with a motor and sensors to create a statue that will respond (with motion) when it detects your presence.
10. Build Your Own Super-sensitive Electric Field Detector: Build a super-sensitive charge detector that can detect electric fields created by static electricity and alert you before you get shocked by a static electricity discharge. (Note: This project is listed as Advanced-Easy at Science Buddies, but eager students may particularly enjoy the concept of building this DIY shock detector! The Electronic Sensors Kit can be used for this project.)

Experiment with Arduino

After getting familiar with how a breadboard works, the next step is working with a microcontroller like Arduino. To get started, we recommend working through the first several videos in the How to Use Arduino tutorial. You can then move on to one of many projects. Here are a few that might be fun to start with:

1. Use an Arduino™ to Control a Color-Changing Infinity Mirror
2. Make a Pomodoro Study Clock (➡️ Video)
3. Build an Arduino Strobe Light for the Stroboscopic Effect (➡️ Video)