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A group of children sit on the floor around a low wooden table, writing and drawing on paper with pens and pencils. Several boxes of colored pencils and markers are spread across the table. In the background, another wooden table and bench stand against a wall near a window.
  • 10 took part
  • 2 facilitators

Saturday 19 September 2026

From battery to bulb

Facilitated by a facilitator

What the work needed: people, time, money, space and materials.
What went in
Batteries, LEDs, aluminium tape (copper tape could not be found), sellotape, a short game and a digital simulation

What was done with those inputs, step by step.

We begin Curiosity Club with a question rather than an explanation.

This week, holding up a battery and a small LED, we asked:

“What do you think we need to do to make this light turn on?”

The children shared their ideas first. From there we introduced a few simple concepts around atoms, electrons and circuits. We used a short game and a digital simulation to help make the invisible parts of electricity a little easier to imagine.

Then came the real test. Could they make the light turn on themselves?

Each child built a paper circuit using a battery, an LED and conductive tape, then turned it into their own design. We had traffic lights, lightning bolts and cars with working lights.

Not every circuit worked first time.

We had been unable to source copper tape, so we used aluminium tape instead, and some connections needed to be adjusted or rebuilt. We also noticed that some children used quite a lot of sellotape to hold things in place, which sometimes interrupted the connection and stopped the circuit from working.

That ended up being one of the best parts of the session.

Instead of giving up, the children kept checking, changing and trying again. One boy struggled for a while, but stayed with it until his light finally came on. The look on his face when it worked said everything.

By the end, every child who stayed to complete the activity managed to light their LED.

We came away with a few practical learnings. Next time, we would slow the build down further and demonstrate one step at a time before everyone moves on.

We are also curious to try reversing the order altogether — letting the children attempt the circuit first, notice what works and what doesn’t, and then using their questions and mistakes to introduce the science behind it. For a concept as abstract as electricity, experiencing the problem first may make the explanation easier to understand.

A messy, hands-on session in which the children tried, failed and tried again. That was where much of the learning happened.

What the activity directly produced: sessions held, people reached, things made.
  • Paper circuits, one per child

What changed for the people who took part, and what showed it.

Every child who stayed to finish lit their LED. The children kept checking, changing and trying again, and one boy stayed with it until his light came on.

(We observed it)

What the team will keep or change next time.

Build more slowly and demonstrate one step at a time. Next, try letting the children attempt the circuit first, and use their questions and mistakes to introduce the science.

EducationMentoringCuriosity ClubOlimalar Foundationaikyam space

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