What are protons?

Protons are tiny building blocks inside atoms that give them their identity.

Imagine you're playing with lego bricks, each color and shape makes a different kind of lego set. In the world of atoms, protons are like the special lego bricks that tell what kind of atom it is. Just as red bricks might mean it's a castle, protons help decide if it’s a hydrogen atom, an oxygen atom, or something else.

Atoms are like tiny universes, and inside them live protons, along with other little friends called neutrons and electrons. The protons stay in the center, kind of like the boss of the team. They're heavy and positively charged, just like how a magnet can attract paperclips.

If you think of an atom as a mini city, protons are the main buildings in the town square, and electrons are the people running around outside. Without protons, the city wouldn’t know what kind of place it was!