Make anything into a key! You can make a connection through anything that's even a little bit conductive. You can also create inventions that combine conductive and non-conductive parts.

Conductive Materials

Here are a few things to try:

• Most fruits and vegetables work great.
• Lots of other foods work too. We've tried marshmallows, gummy candies, macaroni and cheese, cupcakes, shrimp, and lots of other things.
• Plants can work too. Try some leaves or flowers, but nothing too dry.
• Play-Doh, Model Magic and other clays work very well as long as they stay moist.
• People are conductive! Connect one person to ground, and another to an input, and you can trigger sounds when they high-five.
• Graphite from a pencil can work. Make thick, dark lines, and be sure to draw on a smooth surface.
• Foil and other metal objects will work. Try out coins, magnets, nuts and bolts, forks and knives, or pots and pans.

Craft Materials

When you're inventing, anything goes! Here are a few things we have enjoyed using:

Inflatable beach balls, paper plates, cardboard boxes, various types of soft and rigid foam, lego bricks, plastic storage boxes, stuffed animals and other toys, funny hats and other pieces of clothing, sheets of fabric, string, yarn, elastic, and paper.

It's also important to have around some tools for cutting, like scissors and exacto knives, and ways to stick things together, like hot glue, superglue, various kinds of tape, and clips or clamps.