Building radios is an excellent introduction to basic electronics and is a lot of fun. This site describes a project in which 4th-6th grade students have been building complete, functional AM radios as part of their school science curriculum. So far, the project has resulting in the construction of more than 100 functional radios at schools in the Madison, WI area.

Here is more information about projects we have done:

1. EAGLE school, Fitchburg, Wisconsin
At EAGLE school, we with science teacher Dayle Haglund to construct ~28 radios with 4th and 5th-grade students.
     About the Project: A short summary of what we did
     Pictures from "Radio Days" at EAGLE

2. Rome Corners Intermediate School, Oregon, Wisconsin (Oregon School District)
At Rome Corners, we worked with science teachers Dawna Wright and Lynn Hubert and 3 classes of 25 students each to build 75 radios.
     About the Project: A short diary of what we did
     Pictures from "Radio Days" at Rome Corners

Here is information about how radios work:

How radios work
Radio Vocabulary: Important words and definitions
"The Radio Song!" Have trouble remembering all those components? Or maybe you just have a song in your heart? This will help!
How to make an AM radio
What do radio signals look like?
Care and Feeding of your home-built AM Radio

Information for schoolteachers and other educators