I had a little "Science Fair" kit when I was about the same age in the
1980s. Among other things it had some incandescent bulbs and solar panels. I wondered one day what would happen if you tried connecting up the light bulbs so that they shined on the panel and trying to use the output of the panel to power the light bulbs.It seemed absurd on its face; I don't think I bothered trying.
There were more fun things to do like build roller-coasters:
And play what passed for video games (got this one at a yard sale for $10 around 1986!)