Squishy Circuits

Students will:

• Understand basic circuitry.
• Be able to create a basic circuit using the two types of dough. 

Vocabulary Words:

1. Squishy Circuit: A Squishy Circuit is a maker kit that uses conductive and insulating play dough to teach the basics of electrical circuits.

2. Electrical Circuit: An electrical circuit is a circular path through which electricity flows.  

To prepare for this lesson:

• Familiarize yourself with the Squishy Circuit site. 
   
• Decide which Squishy Circuit kit would be best for your classroom. 
   
• Purchase their dough or use one of the recipes to make your own for the students. 
   
• Students will not have had an introduction to how circuits work, but in first grade, they are expected to learn about sound and light. The Squishy Circuits will be a great introduction to teach about sound and light. Here is a link to a great lesson from Science Buddies. 
   
• Get out the kit and play dough and play with it first yourself.
   
• If a device you attach won’t work - try switching the leads from the battery; some devices have an in and out. 
   
• The power is shared - more items ⇒ each gets less power. 
   
• Add food coloring to make it easier to identify conductive vs. insulating dough. If unsure, conductive dough will taste very salty, whereas the insulating dough will taste sweet (both doughs are safe to taste)
   
• Clean connectors when finished -the dough will corrode metal. 
   
• The recommended lifespan of the doughs is about one month, however, it can be frozen for long-term storage. 
   
• Look through the projects and lessons supplied by Squishy Circuits. 
   
• Watch the video 3 Squishy Circuits in 2 Minutes. 

See the Accommodations Page and Charts on the 21things4students website in the Teacher Resources. 

Directions for this activity:

1. The teacher will introduce the Squishy Circuits to the students. 
2. The teacher will tell them they are going to use play dough and batteries to make their creation light up. 
3. The teacher can have the students make the play dough themselves, the teacher provides home-made play dough or purchases it from Squishy Circuits. 
4. Have the students create something with their play dough. They could create a tree with lights, an animal whose eyes light up, etc. 
5. The teacher will have to explain the two different kinds of play dough and how they work with the leads and battery pack. 
6. Have the students attach the battery pack and leads to the play dough and watch it light up!

Optional Activities:

• Have the students hook up buzzers to make sounds. 
• Have the students hook up a small motor. 

Different options for assessing the students:

• Observations
• Check for understanding
• Create a simple rubric measuring:
  • How well they listened. 
  • The aesthetics of the object they created. 
  • If the object lights up, makes a sound, etc.