Daisies in STEM - Electrical Quiz Board

Building an electrical quiz board is a fun and intuitive way to learn about electric circuits. I fondly remember building a quiz board in elementary school, and how satisfying it was to see the light bulb turn on when the correct pairs are matched.

For our electrical quiz board, we used material that is readily available in the house. In lieu of insulated electric wires, we used aluminum foil to conduct electricity and paper as an insulator. The aluminum foil wires were prepared by folding a wide strip of aluminum foil 5-6 times to create a thick and conductive "wire". I printed a selection of images/numbers or images/words pairs and prepared cards with 5 punched holes for the game board.

The first step in assembling the board is creating the quiz. The girls glued the images next to the punched holes on one card, and the numbers/words next to the punched holes on a second card. The next step is to connect the pairs with an aluminum foil wire, making sure the aluminum foil is visible in the punched hole next to the image. It is very important to insulate the wires by covering the exposed foil with paper, before connecting the next pair.

After all the pairs are connected, the center of the board is covered with decorative paper. The electric quiz is ready to be tested!

To test the quiz we used an LED light bulb and a battery connected to insulated aluminum foil wires.

It works!

Please note, connecting the aluminum foil directly to the battery is tricky, it is better and safer to use a battery holder. These can be purchased from a hardware store or online.