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Scrappy Circuits core bricks

The Five Core Bricks

45-60 min

Ages 8+

What Will You Learn?​

The teaching and learning of invention literacy is often locked behind many pre-requisite skills and expensive STEM toys.

Scrappy Circuits is an innovative and scrappy way to learn about electrical circuits for less than $1 per person.

Scrappy Circuits breaks down these barriers to learning to invent through using a modular system of bricks built by the learner and sourced for commonly found objects.

The 5 Core Bricks are the foundation for all further Scrappy Circuit projects and endless possibilities.

We will learn how to make a set of 5 core Scrappy Circuits bricks:

  • one battery brick,
  • one LED brick,
  • three different switches.

These bricks can be connected to build your own circuits to better understand electricity and invention literacy.

LED Tealight Take Apart

Step 1

Open the battery compartment. You might need a small screwdriver to remove a screw. Remove the battery. Set it aside for later.

Step 2

Use a small screwdriver to pry apart the cylinder housing from the battery holder bottom. In most tea lights, you can insert the screwdriver into a hole in the battery compartment and use the screwdriver as a lever to pop the battery holder bottom away from the cylinder body. Try not to crack the plastic body of the tea light.

Step 3

Oftentimes the LED is loose inside the tea light, but sometimes you might need scissors or wire cutters to cut the legs free. Cut so that you save as much of the LED legs as you can.

Step 4

Carefully remove the LED, do not bend the legs more than necessary. To test your LED, take your LED and your 3V battery. Have the legs straddle the 3V battery. Remember: the longer LED leg needs to touch the positive (+) side of the battery. Set the LED aside for later use.

Build Your Brick

Step 5

Cut a cardboard rectangle with each side measuring about 2-3 inches.

Step 6

Clip a binder clip to each side of the cardboard brick toward the top. Flip one binder clip arm down.

Step 7

Place the battery on top of the binder clip arm. It works better with the positive (+) side down.

Step 8

Flip the other binder clip arm down on top of the battery.

Step 9

Use a third binder clip to hold the top arm firmly to the battery and brick.

Step 10

Label each binder clip as positive (+) or negative (–) based on which side of the battery the arm touches. This will make it easier to build a working Scrappy Circuit.

Scrappy Circuits Battery Brick
3-Clip Battery Brick
Battery Circuit Diagram

Add Your LED

Step 11

Carefully stretch the legs of the LED apart. Mark or remember which leg is longer.

Step 12

Cut a piece of cardboard that is slightly longer than the stretched out legs of the LED.

Step 13

Rip and crumple some aluminum foil around each LED leg.

Step 14

Clip a binder clip around the legs of the LED and cardboard, one on either side.

Step 15

Label with “LED Brick” and write a plus sign near the clip for the longer LED leg and a minus sign near the other clip.

Important Note:
LEDs have polarity, which means electricity can only flow in one direction. The longer leg is positive (+) and shorter leg is negative (-). If your LED isn’t lighting, reconnect each Scrappy Clip to the other binder clip.

LED Brick
LED Circuit Diagram

Build the Clip Switch

This one is pretty simple. The binder clip switch operates just like the light switches in our walls. These types of switches are called toggle switches. They stay on or off until the switch is flipped.

Step 16

Clip two binder clips to opposite sides of a cardboard brick.

Step 17

Flip one arm flat against the brick. If it touches the other binder clip’s base, cut a larger brick. Leave one arm down.

Step 18

When you flip the opposite arm down, it should touch the other binder clip’s arm and complete the circuit (turn on). When you lift the arm, it turns the circuit off.

Step 19

Label with “Binder Clip Switch.”

Binder Clip Switch Brick
Toggle Switch Circuit Diagram

Build the Push Switch

Another name for this switch is momentary switch. It only completes or turns on when the paper clip is pressed. When released, the circuit will open and turn off.

Step 20

Clip one binder clip to a cardboard brick. Lower one arm.

Step 21

Lay a paper clip perpendicular (at a right angle) over the binder clip arm. Use your second binder clip to hold the paper clip in place.

Step 22

To close the switch and turn the circuit on, push the paper clip down.

Step 23

Label with “Push Switch.”

Scrappy Circuits push switch
Push Switch Brick
push switch circuit diagram
Push Switch Circuit Diagram

Build the Dial Switch

This switch is a creative use of the cylinder body to the LED tea light. It works because the aluminum foil on the cylinder can be spun so it connects each side or only touches one side. When it connects both sides, the switch is closed and the LED will emit light.

Step 24

Cut a strip of aluminum foil that is the width of your cardboard brick. Cut in half.

Step 25

Use a glue stick to attach the aluminum foil to each side of the cardboard. Be sure the two pieces do not touch in the center.

Step 26

Add binder clips to each aluminum-foil-covered-end.

Step 27

Add some glue from a glue stick to about 50 – 75% of the inside, outside, and lower edge of the white cylinder enclosure.

Step 28

Cut a piece of aluminum foil to cover the glued section. Make sure it wraps around the outside and tucks into the inside. The bottom edge of the cylinder enclosure needs to be 50 – 75% covered in aluminum foil.

Step 29

Poke a hole through the cardboard using a thumbtack or small screwdriver. Straighten enough of a paper clip so it is taller than the cylinder.

Step 30

Thread the paper clip through the cylinder enclosure. On the bottom of the brick, bend the paper clip and tape it down. Spin the cylinder to turn on or off.

Step 31

Label with “Dial Switch.”

Scrappy Circuits Dial Switch
The Dail Switch
Dail Switch Circuit Diagram

What's Next?

The 5 Core Bricks is just the start of Scrappy Circuits.  Connect these bricks together with some Scrappy Clips and make something light up.

Every Scrappy Circuit needs to include at least two things: A Battery Brick (or alternate Power Brick) and an Action Brick. The Battery Brick and LED Brick are part of the five Core Bricks because each circuit needs a power source and a load or Action Brick to perform a task.

Need ideas? See the Five Starter Projects with the Core Bricks in the Scrappy Circuits Zine.

And don’t forget! The Scrappy Circuits Book by Mike Carroll is available now as well. Raid your junk drawer for simple office supplies, add a little cardboard, pay a visit to a local dollar store, and you are on your way to countless fun projects for learning about electronics. No soldering or expensive equipment required.

Materials/Equipment

  • Glue stick
  • Sandpaper
  • Pliers
  • Scissors
  • Small phillips-head screwdriver
  • 1 LED Tealight
  • 11 small binder clips
  • 2 paper clips
  • Aluminum foil
  • Cardboard

Take It Further with Scrappy Circuits

www.scrappycircuits.com

More project ideas in the Scrappy Circuits Zine

Scrappy Circuits Zine Img

 

See More Projects in these topics:

Electronics STEM or STEAM

See More Projects from these themes:

The Canteen (Mess Hall and Recycling Station) The Shop (Makerspace)
Michael
Scrappy Circuits breaks down the many barriers to teaching and learning invention literacy like pre-requisite skills, cost, and access. It is a modular system of bricks built by the learner and sourced from commonly found objects. Binder clips act as terminals for electricity to travel through each brick and can be connected using alligator clips or homemade Scrappy Clips. The first five Scrappy Circuits bricks, known as the Core Bricks, can be constructed for around a dollar out of some office supplies, an LED tea-light, and an imagination. Larger groups can build these for around twenty dollars and each learner will be able to keep their bricks and continue to explore and invent. The learning doesn't stop there! The Scrappy Circuits journey can continue with many more bricks and projects all made out of common and inexpensive items.
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Maker Camp Project Standards

Based on NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)

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.

ISTE Standards (International Society for Technology in Education)

The ISTE Standards provide the competencies for learning, teaching and leading in the digital age, providing a comprehensive roadmap for the effective use of technology in schools worldwide.

1.1 Empowered Learner

  • Summary: Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving, and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences.
  • 1.1.a Students articulate and set personal learning goals, develop strategies leveraging technology to achieve them and reflect on the learning process itself to improve learning outcomes.
  • 1.1.b Students build networks and customize their learning environments in ways that support the learning process.
  • 1.1.c Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.
  • 1.1.d Students understand the fundamental concepts of technology operations, demonstrate the ability to choose, use and troubleshoot current technologies and are able to transfer their knowledge to explore emerging technologies.

1.2 Digital Citizen

  • Summary: Students recognize the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and ethical.
  • 1.2.a Students cultivate and manage their digital identity and reputation and are aware of the permanence of their actions in the digital world.
  • 1.2.b Students engage in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using technology, including social interactions online or when using networked devices.
  • 1.2.c Students demonstrate an understanding of and respect for the rights and obligations of using and sharing intellectual property.
  • 1.2.d Students manage their personal data to maintain digital privacy and security and are aware of data-collection technology used to track their navigation online.

1.3 Knowledge Constructor

  • Summary: Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.
  • 1.3.a Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their intellectual or creative pursuits.
  • 1.3.b Students evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of information, media, data or other resources.
  • 1.3.c Students curate information from digital resources using a variety of tools and methods to create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or conclusions.
  • 1.3.d Students build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems, developing ideas and theories and pursuing answers and solutions.

1.4 Innovative Designer

  • Summary: Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful or imaginative solutions.
  • 1.4.a Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts or solving authentic problems.
  • 1.4.b Students select and use digital tools to plan and manage a design process that considers design constraints and calculated risks.
  • 1.4.c Students develop, test and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process.
  • 1.4.d Students exhibit a tolerance for ambiguity, perseverance and the capacity to work with open-ended problems.

1.5 Computational Thinker

  • Summary: Students develop and employ strategies for understanding and solving problems in ways that leverage the power of technological methods to develop and test solutions.
  • 1.5.a Students formulate problem definitions suited for technology-assisted methods such as data analysis, abstract models and algorithmic thinking in exploring and finding solutions.
  • 1.5.b Students collect data or identify relevant data sets, use digital tools to analyze them, and represent data in various ways to facilitate problem-solving and decision-making.
  • 1.5.c Students break problems into component parts, extract key information, and develop descriptive models to understand complex systems or facilitate problem-solving.
  • 1.5.d Students understand how automation works and use algorithmic thinking to develop a sequence of steps to create and test automated solutions.

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.
For additional information on using content standards with our projects please visit the Maker Camp Playbook.

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.
For additional information on using content standards with our projects please visit the Maker Camp Playbook.
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