Electricity is all around us, from telephone poles to our TV remotes! Have you ever put a battery in a remote controller? Then you too have taken a part in making electricity happen! A battery is like a container that stores energy until it is needed. The energy inside is called chemical energy. When you use your remote to turn on the TV that chemical energy is then converted into electrical energy! 

Batteries are just one part of the big world of electricity. Another part is called a complete circuit. Imagine you have a string with two ends. In a complete circuit both ends are connected to your power source. What are some things around you that look like a complete circuit? Here's a hint: your object should resemble a circle, where the starting point and the ending point are the same!

Just like your remote needs batteries, electricity can't occur on it's own sometimes. Conductors of electricity allow for electricity to pass through them. Remember when Benjamin Franklin flew his kite and it was struck by lightning? On the tip of his kite, there was a piece of iron that acted as a conductor of electricity. Metals are great examples of conductors! 

Before the conductors can allow energy to pass through them, they first have to be hit by an electrical charge. An electrical charge is how we identify whether or not the atom is positively charged (+) or negatively charged (-). A positive atom will have more protons and a negative atom will have more electrons. When you look at a battery you can see that one side has a positive electric charge and one side has a negative electric charge! 

Earlier on we talked about what a complete circuit was and now we will talk about what an electrical circuit is. An electrical circuit is like a road that electrons ride on. The electrons can't ride on the road without having a little help and that's where electrical currents and voltage sources come in to give them a little push. Just like the complete circuit though, it's a lot like a circle where both ends have to be connected for them to be able to ride! 

An electrical current is the flow of an electron. Think of it like this: If the electrical current source is the push to get the electron going. The electrical circuit is the road that it goes on. The electrical current is like the speed that the electron goes on said road. 

Electrical conductors can make electricity happen, while electrical insulators keep that electricity where it needs to be. An electrical insulator is a type of material that does not conduct electricity well. When you look at the telephone poles on the side of the road, you can see conductors between the wire and the wood!  

Do you remember what a complete circuit is? I'll give you a hint it's like a circle. If a complete circuit is a circle, then what would an incomplete circuit be? An incomplete circuit is a circuit that is not connected and therefore stops the flow of electricity. Think about it like a hula hoop. If the hula hoop ends are connected then you can hula hoop. If the ends are not connected then, you cannot, much like in an incomplete circuit.