heart shaped box circuit

We had our second meeting today of Techno Toys and had a great time! We experimented with a couple different types of switches while learning about basic circuitry. If you would like to make a heart shaped box circuit like below, here is how we did it (if I left something out, please let me know!).

Hear shaped box circuitry!

First gather these supplies (I have included hyperlinks to my favorite types and stores to buy them):

• AA batteries and Coin Batteries (Seriously the cheapest batteries I have seen)
• AA Battery holder (I used two batteries which worked well)
• LED Lights
• Alligator Clips
• Wire Cutters (Hands down, the best, easiest wire stripper to work with with kids)
• Electricians Tape
• Duct Tape
• Markers
• Wax Paper, Cloth, light gels (anything that can be used as a lampshade)
• Aluminum foil
• Scissors
• Recycled goodness

We had seven first and second grade students working with us today. In order to have everything ready and go smoothly, I did some preliminary work to make sure students did not get frustrated. With the right planning, even preschoolers should have fun!

Making circuitry look good

I cut and striped alligator clips, wires and the battery packs(not too many because I like to give students the opportunity to work with tools) and tore pieces of duct tape and electricians tape while laying out the supplies on tables. 

First I gave students the coin batteries and one LED (light emitting diode) and told them they could get the LED to turn on with just the battery. They quickly found that there is a positive and negative and if they match up, the light turns on. Next we taped our stripped sides of the alligator clips to the coin batteries with electricians tape and "clipped" the other ends onto the LED's, making sure we had positive to positive and negative to negative.

Success

To finish off, we made our own night lights! To do this, we taped the stripped ends of the Alligator clips to the ends of the battery packs with electricians tape. To really ensure they stay well, I like to weave the wires around one another and then tape them. Next we clipped them to the LED's and turned the battery packs on and we had light, all we needed to do was to build the "base". This is the part of the class I really enjoy!

Students use items from my Recycled goodness to find inspiration. We used wax paper to create neat patterns from the LED's and cut out patterns from the bases to create other illusions. The result is a lot of smiles, learning, and cool glowing items!

 

If you do this and have any issues, please do not hesitate to contact me! I have found often times kids run into problems with loose connections and short circuits.

Next month we will be defying gravity, let me know if you want to sign up, spots are limited and filling fast!!

Stay Bright!

The Garage Creative