How does a battery push electricity?

Inside a battery there are special chemicals. They want to change, and when they change they give a push to tiny particles called electrons.

Electrons live inside the metal of a wire. When the battery pushes, they all start to move along the wire, a bit like water moving through a pipe when you turn on a pump. That moving stream is electricity.

But there is a rule: the electrons need a loop to travel around. If the loop has a gap, nothing moves. A switch is just a little gate that opens and closes the gap.

When the loop is complete, the moving electrons make the bulb glow, the buzzer beep or the motor spin.

Stay safe: only play with small batteries in kits made for kids. Never put anything into a wall socket. Wall electricity is much too strong.