Ready to play? Because the Squishy Circuits kits are designed for play-based learning! By building and testing a number of circuits, kids can learn the basics while experimenting with conductive and insulating dough, LEDs, and other cool accessories. Using the Squishy Circuits components, kids can get hands-on while learning about conductivity, simple circuits, series, and parallel circuits. The line of Squishy Circuits kits come in three sizes: Lite, Standard, and Deluxe. They vary by accessory amount and inclusion of pre-made dough versus instructions for creating some DIY dough!
We experimented with some Squishy Circuits kits a while back, but wanted to take closer look this time. In this edition, we focused on the Deluxe Kit, which is the largest and most involved of the three kits. It comes with some cool sculpting tools and a lot more dough than what's in the Lite and Standard kits. It also has a motor and a fan blade, so kids can build circuits that they can immediately see in action—and the whole kit is still very affordable!
As we said, the Squishy Circuits Deluxe Kit is the biggest kit, meaning it holds the greatest possibilities for learning. Besides what we already named, it also comes with three different conductive doughs, one tub of insulating dough, 40 LEDs of various colors, buzzers, and a switch. The Getting Started guide is also in the kit, so I started by creating a simple circuit consisting of two pieces of conductive dough, one LED bridging the gap between them, and the battery wires plugged into the dough. I also made sure that the longer LED leg was in the dough that had the red (positive) battery wire. This is a necessary step because the LED only works in one direction due to polarity.
When I pushed two pieces of dough together, the LED no longer lit up because I'd created a short circuit. I then placed a small piece of insulating dough between the two pieces of conductive dough. The LED lit up this time because I closed that circuit. This was my first series circuit in which there was a continuous path for electricity to flow through—around the insulating dough and through the LED. Then, I created a parallel circuit by rolling out two pieces of conductive dough and bridging the long gap with three Squishy Circuits LEDs. Since electricity was flowing through each LED independently, each LED shone brightly, illustrating the principle of conductivity!
The Squishy Circuits system is simple and highly accessible for introducing students to circuitry basics. It can also be applied at a higher level, building on previous circuitry knowledge and engaging older children. Adding Squishy Circuits kits to lessons can encourage students to model and design their own circuits and get real-time feedback!
To get a Squishy Circuits kit of your own, click below to visit the Eduporium store! And, look out next week for the newest edition of the Eduporium Experiment featuring the Oculus Rift! In the meantime, feel free to follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more and like us on Facebook, too!
