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Electronics for Kids, 2nd Edition

Play with Simple Circuits and Experiment with Electricity!

Author Oyvind Nydal Dahl
Ebook
No Starch | No Starch Press
On sale Jun 30, 2026 | 200 Pages | 9781718503519
Grade 5 & Up
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Learn to (safely) control electricity with the click of a button, the tip of a finger, and even the light from the sun!

Why do lights blink? How does a speaker make noise? In Electronics for Kids, you’ll discover the magic of electricity through hands-on projects designed to safely teach the basics while having fun and building cool gadgets.

Ward off intruders with an alarm that buzzes when someone opens your bedroom door, create a secret message machine to communicate with friends, and build your own playable musical instrument with funky digital sounds — all while learning the ins and outs of batteries, breadboards, and more!

Throughout your electronics journey, you’ll:
  • Explore how resistance, voltage, and current work
  • Solder components to a circuit board to create permanent projects
  • Use transistors to create “smart” devices that react to touch
  • Turn 1s and 0s into words and images
  • Build circuits that help you decide things, like a coin flipper that randomly picks heads or tails

This second edition is revised and updated to focus on building a strong foundation of electronics, with more accessible language, less convoluted theory, and a focus on inexpensive, readily available components and tools. Full-color illustrations, diagrams, and new high quality photographs provide helpful context and keep readers engaged.

Ready to have the incredible world of electronics at your fingertips? After reading Electronics for Kids, you will be!
Øyvind Nydal Dahl built his first circuit at 14 and has been passionate about electronics ever since. He has a master’s degree in electronics from the University of Oslo, helps companies develop new products, and travels the world while teaching electronics workshops. He also writes beginner-friendly tutorials at http://www.build-electronic-circuits.com.
Oyvind Nydal Dahl View titles by Oyvind Nydal Dahl
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction

Part I: Playing with Electricity
Chapter 1: What Is Electricity
Chapter 2: Making Things Move with Electricity and Magnets
Chapter 3: How to Generate Electricity

Part II: Building Circuits
Chapter 4: Creating Light with LEDs
Chapter 5: Blinking a Light for the First Time
Chapter 6: Let’s Solder!
Chapter 7: Controlling Things with Electricity
Chapter 8: Integrated Circuits: Tiny Packets of Wonder

Part III: The Digital World
Chapter 9: How Circuits Understand Ones and Zeros
Chapter 10: Circuits That Make Choices
Chapter 11: Circuits That Remember Information
Chapter 12: Let’s Make a Game

Appendix: Handy Resources
Index
Praise for the first edition of Electronics for Kids:

“Beautifully designed.”
—Boing Boing

“Enlightening and fun.”
—The MagPi

“Chock-full of photographs to help guide young learners along, this book is a great jumping off point for those who are interested in learning about simple circuits and electricity.”
—School Library Connection

“Electronics for Kids continues the No Starch Press tradition of publishing smart books that make STEM topics accessible and encourage kids to think.”
—Homeschool.com

“Electronics for Kids is a fantastic tool for diving into the world of electronics and circuitry.”
—Vivify STEM

“There’s just the right mix of reading and hands-on projects that I’m confident the kids won’t get bored. Even better, the projects won’t insult their intelligence… they feature real components, a real breadboard, and actual schematics. I have no doubt that young readers will finish this book with a solid understanding of the basics of electronics and maybe even a desire to go further and learn more… a win for a parent or a teacher!”
—GeekDad

“This kind of book is the cure for the sense of depression you feel when you go to the toy store and look at the “science” section and everything you see is crap. Just get this book.”
—ScienceBlogs

“The author has pulled off a tremendous balancing act by creating a book that is fun and interesting, that has the reader building things and making stuff happen right from the get-go, and that manages to explain the underlying theory without talking down to the audience.”
—EE Times

About

Learn to (safely) control electricity with the click of a button, the tip of a finger, and even the light from the sun!

Why do lights blink? How does a speaker make noise? In Electronics for Kids, you’ll discover the magic of electricity through hands-on projects designed to safely teach the basics while having fun and building cool gadgets.

Ward off intruders with an alarm that buzzes when someone opens your bedroom door, create a secret message machine to communicate with friends, and build your own playable musical instrument with funky digital sounds — all while learning the ins and outs of batteries, breadboards, and more!

Throughout your electronics journey, you’ll:
  • Explore how resistance, voltage, and current work
  • Solder components to a circuit board to create permanent projects
  • Use transistors to create “smart” devices that react to touch
  • Turn 1s and 0s into words and images
  • Build circuits that help you decide things, like a coin flipper that randomly picks heads or tails

This second edition is revised and updated to focus on building a strong foundation of electronics, with more accessible language, less convoluted theory, and a focus on inexpensive, readily available components and tools. Full-color illustrations, diagrams, and new high quality photographs provide helpful context and keep readers engaged.

Ready to have the incredible world of electronics at your fingertips? After reading Electronics for Kids, you will be!

Author

Øyvind Nydal Dahl built his first circuit at 14 and has been passionate about electronics ever since. He has a master’s degree in electronics from the University of Oslo, helps companies develop new products, and travels the world while teaching electronics workshops. He also writes beginner-friendly tutorials at http://www.build-electronic-circuits.com.
Oyvind Nydal Dahl View titles by Oyvind Nydal Dahl

Table of Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction

Part I: Playing with Electricity
Chapter 1: What Is Electricity
Chapter 2: Making Things Move with Electricity and Magnets
Chapter 3: How to Generate Electricity

Part II: Building Circuits
Chapter 4: Creating Light with LEDs
Chapter 5: Blinking a Light for the First Time
Chapter 6: Let’s Solder!
Chapter 7: Controlling Things with Electricity
Chapter 8: Integrated Circuits: Tiny Packets of Wonder

Part III: The Digital World
Chapter 9: How Circuits Understand Ones and Zeros
Chapter 10: Circuits That Make Choices
Chapter 11: Circuits That Remember Information
Chapter 12: Let’s Make a Game

Appendix: Handy Resources
Index

Praise

Praise for the first edition of Electronics for Kids:

“Beautifully designed.”
—Boing Boing

“Enlightening and fun.”
—The MagPi

“Chock-full of photographs to help guide young learners along, this book is a great jumping off point for those who are interested in learning about simple circuits and electricity.”
—School Library Connection

“Electronics for Kids continues the No Starch Press tradition of publishing smart books that make STEM topics accessible and encourage kids to think.”
—Homeschool.com

“Electronics for Kids is a fantastic tool for diving into the world of electronics and circuitry.”
—Vivify STEM

“There’s just the right mix of reading and hands-on projects that I’m confident the kids won’t get bored. Even better, the projects won’t insult their intelligence… they feature real components, a real breadboard, and actual schematics. I have no doubt that young readers will finish this book with a solid understanding of the basics of electronics and maybe even a desire to go further and learn more… a win for a parent or a teacher!”
—GeekDad

“This kind of book is the cure for the sense of depression you feel when you go to the toy store and look at the “science” section and everything you see is crap. Just get this book.”
—ScienceBlogs

“The author has pulled off a tremendous balancing act by creating a book that is fun and interesting, that has the reader building things and making stuff happen right from the get-go, and that manages to explain the underlying theory without talking down to the audience.”
—EE Times

Additional formats

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