Integrated Circuit

Hello there. My name is Integrated Circuit, but you can call me a microchip. I am a very, very tiny helper. I am so small, you could balance me on the tip of your finger. I live inside your favorite toys that light up and make fun sounds. I also live inside the phones and computers that grown-ups use every day. Before I was born, electronics were big and heavy. They had lots of separate parts inside, all jumbled together like a big pile of blocks. It was hard to make things small and easy to carry.

One day in the year 1958, a very smart man named Jack Kilby had a big idea. He saw all the big parts and thought, 'What if all of these pieces could be one tiny thing?'. He worked hard and built the very first me. He put all the little helpers together on one little slice of material. I was so excited to be created. A little later, in the year 1959, another smart man named Robert Noyce found an even better way to make me. His idea made it easy to create lots and lots of me. That way, I could go live in many toys and machines all over the world.

Now, I am everywhere, making your world go. Because I am so small and powerful, I can fit inside almost anything to make it smart. I am like a little brain that helps things think and work. I am the helper in your tablet that lets you watch cartoons and play games. When you have a toy that talks or sings, that’s me inside, helping it make noise. I am also the magic that helps grown-ups talk on their phones to people far away. I love helping you play, learn, and connect with the whole world.