Want a new craft that really brings the wow factor with some super easy circuit work for kids? Check out these adorable Circuit Bugs!
THE ORIGINAL CIRCUIT BUGS
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Jackson is really into circuits but after many years of using his Snap Circuits he was ready to move onto something different. I’ve been trying to find a way to get the boys more interested in crafts and after some research and inspiration from some fellow tinkers, I came up with this super cool little activity that got a resounding “WOW” from the boys!
These cute bugs incorporate great fine motor and creative crafting skills, but also circuit work that will keep your older kids enthralled and challenged.
Thank you for visiting STEAM Powered Family. We are the original creators of this Circuit Bug activity and we love that people all over the world are doing this activity with their children, however, we do ask that if you are sharing your projects or programs on the internet that you link back to this article. We also ask that you DO NOT copy this article and repost it on your site, please link to this original, copyrighted, article. Thank you for helping us as we innovate and create new projects that encourage kids to embrace STEAM.
This is not an activity for little kids. Working with the circuits and batteries is something that should only be done under adult supervision and only by older children that can understand not to put anything in their mouth! It is also quite complicated, so I would say this activity is for 8 and up with lots of parent supervision and guidance.
To make your own Circuit Bug you will need:
2 LED Lights
Insulated Copper Magnet Wire
Batteries – CR2032 3V
Electrical Tape
Clothespins
Pipecleaners
Popsicle Sticks (Optional depending on your design)
Start by setting out your LED lights. You will notice one leg is longer than the other. The longer one is the positive pin. Before going any further test your LEDs by inserting the battery between the legs. If it doesn’t work, try turning the battery around. If it still doesn’t work try a different LED or battery. You want to make sure you have working parts right from the beginning because the chance of circuits being interrupted is quite high as you work through this project.
Cut your wire. I recommend cutting it a bit long and trimming it later to the final length. We started by measuring the length of the clothespin twice (or in the case of our dragonfly we went really long and doubled his length which included a clothespin plus popsicle sticks). Strip both ends of your wire, about 2-3 cm in length. You want enough for a good connection but not too much that you raise your risk of circuit interruption. My wire was quite thin so I did this with a pair of scissors by scraping the wire along the scissors. If you have a thicker wire you can use wire strippers if you have them.
Now wrap the wire around the positive pin of each LED, then take the loose ends and twist them together. Repeat the process with the negative pin on both LEDs.
Take your two sets of twisted wires and test them on the battery. Throughout the construction I recommend you keep testing the circuits. It is very easy to interrupt the circuit. At times I even secured the wires to the battery with a clothespin so I could ensure the work I was doing wasn’t interrupting the circuit.
This project will require some patience and trial and error.
After building your Circuit Bugs, up the challenge by building a potato battery!
The next step can be done a few ways. You want to attach the LED’s to the legs of the clothespin or onto popsicle sticks by having each leg on either side of the wood. This will help prevent the wires touching and causing a short. You can simply set the LED’s there and snug them on but if you want them more secure I recommend wrapping the pins onto the wood with electrical tape. If you are going to get shorts in your circuit this is where they are most likely going to happen.
You may also want to tape the wires against the body, or if you have lots of extra you can wrap it around the clothespin. Make sure to leave the extra dangling from the end so you can attach the battery.
Start building your bug! You can do this however you wish. We simply wrapped the pipecleaners around the clothespin to create the look we wanted. By bending and twisting the pipecleaners we were able to secure them and make quite a stable design. We went with a Dragonfly, Beetle Bug and Bumblebee.
As you build keep testing that circuit! I intentionally left the leads really long on the dragonfly to show the wires, make the wiring a bit easier on that one, and it worked with the look of that bug. I can always go back and trim those up, but for the purposes of our project I wanted variety and a chance to show off the wiring to my six year old in a very obvious way. He found it much easier to insert the battery into the dragonfly design. In the beetlebug and bumblebee inserting the battery is quite snug and was hard for his little fingers to do.
On most of the bug designs you will probably want to trim the wires to get a more compact look. Trimming also gives you a more stable connection so you can play with your creation more.
When you are completely finished building your bug it is time to trim the excess wire. I recommend you do both the negative leads first: trim then strip, then twist them back together. Then do the same on the positive leads. I didn’t do this one time and it was a pain trying to figure out which were my positives and negatives again!
Wrap the negative leads around one side of the clothespin end (the tight part that clamps shut), then wrap the other side with the positive leads. Make sure the stripped portion is on the inside. Then simply insert your battery to create life in your circuit bug!
If it doesn’t work, turn the battery around. If it still doesn’t work you will need to disassemble your bug to find the point where your circuit is being interrupted. Testing throughout the construction helps with trouble shooting.
They don’t have an on/off switch, so to turn off your bug simply remove the battery.
We had so much fun with these little critters. I hope you enjoy your circuit bugs!
Want to really dive into learning circuits and programming? Check out Creation Crate
Try our newest circuit activity – Circuit Flowers!
Looking for more STEAM project ideas? Check out STEAM Kids, it’s packed full of over 50 STEAM activities.
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Steph@thestephblog says
Very cool! When the little guy (20 months) gets a little bigger we are definitely going to try these! I loved science kits and things when I was a kid and the idea of homemade ones is even better. Thank you for sharing!
Antonia-Renee says
I think I have a little guy about to be bitten my circuit bug making syndrome!!! Thanks for sharing!!
Meaghan says
I love these bugs. So glad I found them for my boys. #pintastic pinning party
Keitha says
Thanks for sharing this fun project. I will pin it for later. Hopped over from Crafty Moms Share.
Otilia says
Such a lovely craft! Thank you for linking up with the #pinitparty
Amy says
Oh my goodness! What an awesomely fun idea! My boys are going to love it!
Eva says
I absolutely love it! Such a creative and educational project. And thank you so much for recommending Harry Potter. We just finished the first book and my two older kids are all agog with excitement. I am afraid they won’t relax until we get to the library to get the next book. Thanks for sharing your wonderful and inspirational posts with us #LearningKidLinkup. I will be sharing and pinning.
Donella Crigger says
These circuit bugs are beautiful. What a fun activity! Alas, circuits (and anything electricity-related) were my worst areas in physics, but these seem simple enough for me to try with the kiddo. 🙂 This post will be featured at our Get Your Shine On link party this Thursday. We hope you’ll join us again!
Adelien Tandian says
My son was excited reading this post. He is an electronics junkie. Those bugs are awesome. He will certainly try to make this inspiring idea. Thank you very much for sharing with us.
Roger Mose says
What a super fun way to teach the principles of electricity while making it fun for kids. I always say, there are many great career options in the electrical industry. Get them started young!
Tina says
I tried to make one of these so I could have a project day with my homeschool co-op kids and I kept breaking the circuit every time I wrapped it. I unwrapped it and it worked, wrapped it – it didn’t work. What in the world was going wrong?
Shelley says
Hi Tina
Sorry you are running into issues. It sounds like you are causing interruptions in the circuits. The metal in the pipe cleaners can cause a break in the circuit if you let it touch any of your metal. Try wrapping all your wires with electrical tape before wrapping the pipe cleaners. Good luck!
Brian Sargent says
Hi – can I ask why it’s magnetic wire instead of standard hook-up wire? I’ve read through a few times and couldn’t find a specific reason.
Shelley says
Great question! I can only recommend the products we used that resulted in success. That doesn’t mean other products may not also work, but I want to ensure my readers are provided with the tools they need to experience success with their kids as they do these projects. In this case, these are the exact tools we used that resulted in success (and yes, we did try some other types of materials as well). But the great thing about tinkering is trying new things. If you want to try other materials, I would love to hear if any of them work for you. Best of luck building bugs!
Jill McKenzie says
Does the wire have to be so thin?
Shelley says
You can try it with different wire, but this is what worked for me. Since this is a very finicky project, prone to circuit breaks, I can’t recommend any other wire. This one works for me every time with minimal fuss. I know others have tried different wires and struggled.
Elaura says
Hey this is really really useful for my project thank you I’m definitely going to try this
Samira El Boudati says
Hi this looks amazing, i want to try this out in an upcoming project. Any idea how long this takes to complete? i have 100 minutes to fill with 10-12 years old.
Shelley says
If you have the activity materials well prepared and you are comfortable with the project to help with troubleshooting, you should be able to complete it in that allotted time. Happy creating!