Prairie STEM recently had a fantastic time bringing hands-on electricity lessons to the primary students at Bergan Catholic Elementary School in Fremont. Through creative tools and interactive activities, Kindergarten through 3rd grade students explored how electricity flows through circuits while discovering that science can be both exciting and a little bit surprising!
Students rotated between two engaging activity stations: a Makey Makey Piano and a Makey Makey Operation Game.
At the Makey Makey Piano station, students used a handmade cardboard piano connected to a laptop running the Makey Makey piano program. Using Makey Makey wires, students completed an electrical circuit with their bodies and the piano keys to play different musical notes. As they touched the keys and completed the circuit, the computer detected the signal and played the corresponding sound.
This activity helped students understand a key science concept: electric current flows when a circuit is complete. Students learned that a circuit needs a continuous path for electricity to travel from a power source, through a device, and back again. They also discovered something that brought lots of laughter and curiosity—people are conductive! When students held the ground wire and touched the piano keys, their bodies became part of the circuit, allowing electricity to flow and the notes to play.
At the Operation Game station, students used a laser-cut and handmade version of the classic Operation-style game connected with Makey Makey wires and a program created in Scratch. When students touched the metal edge while trying to remove an object, the circuit was completed and the buzzer sound played.
But the creativity didn’t stop there. Students learned they could change the buzzer sound in the Scratch program, and the room quickly filled with a wide variety of funny and unexpected noises. Some students even recorded their own voices to create custom buzzers, adding a fun element of digital creativity to the engineering challenge.
Through these activities, students explored several important STEM concepts, including:
- Electric circuits and how electricity flows
- Conductors, including the surprising discovery that the human body can conduct electricity
- Input and output systems between physical devices and computers
- Basic programming concepts using Scratch
- Creative problem-solving and experimentation
Lessons like these help young learners see that science isn’t just something you read about—it’s something you can touch, hear, test, and explore. The excitement in the room showed just how powerful hands-on learning can be when students are encouraged to experiment and discover.
Prairie STEM would like to extend a sincere thank you to Bergan Catholic School in Fremont for welcoming us and supporting engaging STEM learning opportunities for their students. It is always a joy to see young learners exploring science, technology, and creativity together!
