Electricity is an important and challenging science topic at all school levels. Learners often have many difficulties in learning electricity. Previous attempts to overcome these difficulties have been rather one-sided, leaning only on one method at the time, and thus ineffective. As a solution, a learning environment which combines the strengths of traditional laboratory exercise and simulation working with tasks that structure student work and explicitly address common difficulties in learning electricity was developed. This experimental study examined if this 1) simulation-laboratory-combination environment can enhance elementary school students understanding of simple DC circuits compared to those students that only 2) use a simulation or work with 3) traditional hands-on laboratory methods. As a result, compared to traditional laboratory work, the simulation-laboratory-combination environment was particularly effective. It improved more effectively students' overall knowledge of DC circuits and facilitated the development of scientifically acceptable models of current flow and current division. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.) [Paper presented as part of the "Learning Objects in the Classroom: A European Perspective" symposium at the British Educational Research Association annual conference, Manchester, September 16-18, 2004.]