Marquee Letter
WHAT WILL YOU MAKE?
Like an old-time movie marquee, these luminous letters add spark to any space. Personalize your room with a number, a letter, even a short message spelled out in lights.
WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?
You will learn to build a parallel circuit and solder electronics.
STEPS
STEP 1
With a craft knife, cut off the top of the cardboard letter. It's easiest to make a rough cut first, and then follow up with a second cut to get closer to the edges. Once you've finished cutting, you can smooth the edges of the letter with sandpaper, if you want.
STEP 2
Using a ruler, on the back of your letter, measure where you want the LEDs to go. They should be about 1.5" apart. With a pencil, mark a small X at each spot.
STEP 3
Using the craft knife, carefully cut a small crossed slit at each X. Then, gently poke the pencil through each slit, going from inside the letter to the back, to make a rounded hole for each LED.
STEP 4
When the holes are made, it's time to decorate! The hollow inside is what people will notice. First paint it with acrylic spray paint, using the paintbrush to touch up the cardboard edges or add decorative details. Then add stickers or cut-out images for decoupage, sprinkle it with glitter–whatever you want. We painted ours silver to give it an old-timey look, then we painted the outside black. When you're done, let everything dry before continuing.
STEP 5
Use a black marker to darken the long positive (+) legs of each LED, so you can easily see them. Then use the wire strippers to clip each darkened leg so it's only about 1/2" long.
Then use the wire strippers to clip one leg of each resistor (it doesn't matter which one), so that each is about 1/2" long. Set the resistors aside.
STEP 6
From the front, gently wiggle one LED into each hole. Then, on the back, bend down each LED's short negative (-) leg and orient them so they're facing in the same direction. Using the hot glue gun, glue each LED in place. Glue from the letter's (hollow) front, while pressing the X cuts in place on the back; this is to hold the LEDs tight and to keep the glue from running down onto the LED legs.
When you're done, each LED bulb should be sitting flat inside the front hollow of the letter, and each negative (-) LED leg should be pressed flat and aligned on the back.
STEP 7
When the glue is dry, flip over the letter. On the back, twist the clipped end of each resistor to the clipped positive (+) leg of each LED.
Using the soldering iron, solder each connection. Bend the wires down flat and, using wire strippers, cut off any wire that sticks out beyond the outer edge of the letter.
We're using resistors here because we're wiring in parallel, using more battery power than any one LED can handle. The resistors will "resist" the extra voltage so the LEDs don't burn out.
STEP 8
Using wire strippers, cut a piece of red hookup wire that is long enough to connect all the LEDs, plus a few additional inches. An exact measurement isn't necessary; you just need some extra wire at the end to attach the battery holder. Strip both ends to expose about 1" of wire.
STEP 9
Hold the red wire along the LEDs and, with the black marker, mark each place the wire meets an LED. At each of these points, you want to strip enough covering away to expose a small bit of wire, which will be solder points. A quick way to strip the insulation in these places is to gently roll the wire under the blade of the craft knife, then slice lightly along the length of the wire and pull off the insulation. When finished, the red wire should look something like this:
STEP 10
Repeat steps 8 and 9 with the black wire, so that it measures and looks the same as the red wire, except that the black wire will connect to the negative (-) legs of your LEDs.
STEP 11
When both wires are ready, use the soldering iron to solder the red wire to the free ends of each resistor. Then solder the black wire to the negative (-) LED legs.
STEP 12
Using wire strippers, clip off any extra red or black wire at the end of your letter. If the leads on the battery holder aren't already stripped (some come that way), use the wire strippers to strip the ends of the red and black leads on the battery holder. Then use the soldering iron to solder the battery holder leads to the letter's two wires: match red to red and black to black.
STEP 13
When everything's working, use the hot-glue gun to touch a drop of hot glue over each solder connection to protect them.
STEP 14
To finish up, cover the wires in back with electrical tape and glue the battery holder onto the back of the letter (make sure you can still open it!).
The letter you've created can now stand on its own, but you can also hang it up, We used double-sided foam tape, but be sure you get an adult's permission before you stick your letter to the wall! It will also look great just sitting on your bookshelf.
WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE?
In a series circuit, the electrical current is only able to flow around a single path. The current will flow from a power source, such as a battery, into one or more electrical loads, such as a light bulb, and then back to the power source. The Voltage in a series circuit is divided up across all of the loads. In a parallel circuit, the electrical current may flow along multiple paths before returning to the power source. The voltage in a parallel circuit is the same across all of the loads in the circuit.
Materials:
- Hollow cardboard letter (or papier-mâché letters) from craft store
- Acrylic spray paint, any colors
- Diffused LEDs, enough for size of letter (see step 2)
- 150-Ohm, 1/4-watt resistors (same amount as LEDs)
- Red hookup wire
- Black hookup wire
- One two-battery coin-cell holder with leads
- Two 3V coin-cell batteries (CR2032)
- Optional: double-sided foam tape
- Craft knife
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Black marker
- Wire strippers
- Hot-glue gun and glue sticks
- Soldering iron and solder
- Paintbrush
- Electrical tape
- Optional: sandpaper
- Optional: additional decorative elements (stickers, cut-out images, glitter, paint, and so on)
Please Note
Your safety is your own responsibility, including proper use of equipment and safety gear, and determining whether you have adequate skill and experience. Power tools, electricity, and other resources used for these projects are dangerous, unless used properly and with adequate precautions, including safety gear and adult supervision. Some illustrative photos do not depict safety precautions or equipment, in order to show the project steps more clearly. Use of the instructions and suggestions found in Maker Camp is at your own risk. Make Community, LLC, disclaims all responsibility for any resulting damage, injury, or expense.
Maker Camp Project Standards
Based on NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)
National Core Arts Standards
The National Core Arts Standards are a process that guides educators in providing a unified quality arts education for students in Pre-K through high school. These standards provide goals for Dance, Media Arts, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts with cross-cutting anchors in Creating, Performing, Responding, and Connecting through art. The Anchor Standards include:- Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
- Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
- Refine and complete artistic work.
- Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation.
- Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation.
- Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work.
- Perceive and analyze artistic work.
- Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.
- Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.
- Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.
- Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.
NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards. Learn more.Forces and Motion
- 3-PS2-3. Ask questions to determine cause and effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other.
- HS-PS4-5. Communicate technical information about how some technological devices use the principles of wave behavior and wave interactions with matter to transmit and capture information and energy.
National Core Arts Standards
The National Core Arts Standards are a process that guides educators in providing a unified quality arts education for students in Pre-K through high school. Also see Standards with cross-cutting anchors in Creating, Performing, Responding, and Connecting through art for Visual Arts.NGSS 3-5.Engineering Design
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards.- 3-5-ETS1-1. Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
- 3-5-ETS1-2. Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
- 3-5-ETS1-3. Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.
NGSS MS.Engineering Design
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards.- MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
- MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
- MS-ETS1-3. Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.
- MS-ETS1-4. Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.
NGSS HS.Engineering Design
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards.- HS-ETS1-1. Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.
- HS-ETS1-2. Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.
- HS-ETS1-3. Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
- HS-ETS1-4. Use a computer simulation to model the impact of proposed solutions to a complex real-world problem with numerous criteria and constraints on interactions within and between systems relevant to the problem.
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