Museum of Science and Industry

Make a Circuit Board

See how electricity flows through a circuit that you build.

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Lesson at a glance

A circuit board is a piece of insulator material on which multiple circuits are mounted.  Students will construct a circuit board with different circuit connections for other students to test. How can you make a complete circuit?

Students Will Know:
Electricity - Electrical current used as a source of power.
Circuit - A path that electricity flows along. Electricity can flow only if the parts of the circuit are connected in a continuous loop. If a break is made in a circuit, the electricity stops flowing.
A simple circuit must contain three parts: a source of electricity (such as a battery); conductors to carry the electricity (such as wires); a load - Any device that requires electricity to operate (such as a light bulb)
Switch - A control device that dictates whether the current is flowing
Insulator - Material that offers great resistance to the flow of electricity or does not allow electricity to flow through it at all.
Conductor - Materials that readily allows electricity to flow through.

Students Will Be Able To:
Define and design a circuit board.
Test different connections to identify which ones make a complete circuit and light the bulbs.

Illinois Learning Standards

Late Elementary
State Goal 11: A.2c; B.2c
State Goal 12: C.2a
State Goal 13: B.2b
Middle/Junior High
State Goal 11: A.3a; A.3b; A.3c
State Goal 13: B.3a

Background information

A circuit is a path that electricity flows along. A circuit might contain many electrical components or just a few. Electricity can flow only if the parts of the circuit are connected in a continuous loop to the power supply. If a break is made in the circuit, the electricity stops flowing.

Electricity will flow through some objects and will not flow through others. Materials that allow electricity to flow are called conductors. Materials that do not allow electricity to flow are called insulators. 

In simple circuits, the electrical current originates at a power source (such as a battery). It is carried along a conductor and performs a use, such as lighting a light bulb. A complete circuit is one where the electrical current runs in an unbroken path from the source through the conductor to the item using the electricity and back to the source again. A basic simple circuit consists of three items: a source (battery), conductors (wires or strips of metal), and a load or use (a light bulb). A control device, such as a switch, can be added to turn the flow of electricity on or off.

Guiding questions

Why does the bulb only light up when the paper clips touch the correct question and answer?
How is this board similar to the wiring in a house?
What could be wrong if the question and the answer do not light up?