Touch Circuit Fairy Lights
45-60 min
Ages 8+
What Will You Learn?â
Follow this guide to build a working touch circuit, that turns on and stays on when you touch two of the wires, using your body as a conductor, and then shuts off when you touch the other wire!
This touch circuit is great to build as a working device, and then add it on to a wearable or invention that you create!
About This Adventure
Today, fashion designers are not limited to fabrics in their designs. Technology has become part of our story and is much more accessible. Young designers can use tech such as lights, sensors, and microcontrollers to tell their stories.
In this adventure, you will experience and experiment as we go through the MakeFashion Edu process to support campers as they:
learn – about the elements of fashion and circuits
design – a story and the wearable
construct – a fashion tech piece using recyclable materials and lights
exhibit – be seen! Our favorite medium is the runway.
You will be able to support your designers as they find their voices and tell their own stories through fashion pieces they create and share.
This adventure is divided into several sections, each with its own projects. The bolded project denotes the page you are on. The arrows mark the section you are in.
Video Overview
In this video, James shows us how to hack Fairy Wire into a touch-activated circuit. It shows you how to add an electronics circuit to a headpiece which can be adapted to other projects easily.
Building the Circuit
Step 1
Time to create the circuit! It’s helpful if you draw out the circuit on a piece of paper, that way you will be able to build it at your own speed and reference the layout for each step. Take a blank piece of paper, and copy the drawing for yourself.
Step 2
Get your Fairy Wire out, see how it will match the drawing? You could tape it down in place over the drawing if you like, to help keep track of things. Start with the battery holder. For the wires, we don’t know which one is positive (+) and which is negative (-).
How should we find out? There are several ways. I encourage you to experiment!
Step 3
One way to find out which wire is positive (+) and which is negative (-) I used a battery! If you hold the battery between the two wires and the lights turn on, then the positive (+) wire is the one touching the positive side of the battery – you can tell because the battery has a plus (+) sign on the positive side!
Step 4
However! The wires of the Fairy Wire look bare, but are coated with a thin layer of clear plastic. You need to remove this before the battery you hold can turn on the Fairy Wire lights!
Sand the wires for 10 seconds or so, making sure to get both sides. That will remove the plastic, expose the metal, and allow you to test which wire is positive and which is negative by pressing the exposed wires against the battery!
If the lights do not turn on, then flip the battery around so the wires touch the other sides of the battery. If they do not turn on either way, do a bit more sanding on those wires!
Step 5
Here is the Fairy Wire being turned on with the battery! (my Fairy Wire LEDs are red) Now I know which wire is positive!
Now that you know which wire is positive, you can put it onto your circuit drawing! I’m going to mark my wire with a piece of blue tape and a + mark, to help me keep track. Mark your wire in some way as well. Tape is great, or you could make a little circle loop in the positive wire to tell it apart from the negative.
Step 6
Next step! *Cut* the negative wire using scissors. Make sure it’s not the positive wire!
Step 7
You could tape your wires down in place on your drawing, if you would like to keep track. One of the wires goes up to the MOSFET, the black thing with three legs, it goes at the top!
Make sure the back of the MOSFET lays flush and flat against the paper, so that when I say “the left leg”, we are talking about the same leg! To put it another way, the MOSFET has a piece of grey metal with a hole in it, make sure that piece is resting against your paper when you place the MOSFET down on your drawing.
Step 8
You could tape your wires down in place on your drawing, if you would like to keep track. One of the wires goes up to the MOSFET, the black thing with three legs, it goes at the top!
Make sure the back of the MOSFET lays flush and flat against the paper, so that when I say “the left leg”, we are talking about the same leg! To put it another way, the MOSFET has a piece of grey metal with a hole in it, make sure that piece is resting against your paper when you place the MOSFET down on your drawing.
Step 9
Connect the next pin and socket wire to the middle leg of the MOSFET! And then set it all back in place. You can see on my drawing the wires are a bit longer than the drawing, that’s okay if yours is too, just as long as you can tell which wire goes where!
One more leg to go!
Step 10
The right leg attaches to the negative (-) wire! This is not a socket tipped wire, so it is going to require some soldering.
Have you learned how to use a soldering iron? If yes, proceed! If no, have an adult who knows how it is done supervise.
Wrap your negative wire around the MOSFET’s right let. Check everything against the photos, and if it all looks good, it’s time to solder! If you do not solder this connection you *might* be able to twist the wires enough to all hold together. You could try wrapping everything in tape to help, but no guarantees on how well it will hold together!
Step 11
With the wire wrapped around the right leg, use the soldering iron to heat the wire up for about 5 seconds. Then insert your solder right inbetween the iron and the leg, and melt a big glob onto it! It should take about 2 or 3 seconds to do this. Do not keep the soldering iron held down for more than 10 more seconds, or you might burn the MOSFET.
If you did not get it the first time, feel free to try again after letting it cool down for about 10 seconds!
It does not need to be pretty, it just needs to hold! When you think you have it, let it cool off for about 30 seconds before touching it and then make sure it is melted down.
Step 12
The last connection! When you have finished this, the circuit should work! Take the other negative wire that you had cut earlier, and take the wire coming out of the middle of the MOSFET.
Twist them together and solder them! Use the same method as before, and make sure you are either trained in soldering iron safety or have an adult supervising.
Step 13
After you finish soldering this last wire, it is nice to cover the solder with tape to help prevent it from breaking apart or touching any other wires.
This is it! You have constructed a touch circuit!
Step 14
Time to use the circuit! If you have a piece of tape covering the positive (+) wire where you sanded it down, take it off because you will need to touch that part!
See the wire coming out of the left leg of the MOSFET? Hold that wire, the tip of it, and don’t let go!
With your other hand, touch the positive wire where you sanded it, and the circuit should turn on! Change to touching the right leg of the MOSFET to turn the circuit off.
What’s going on? Your body is acting as a wire, and the MOSFET is acting like an on and off switch.
A MOSFET is like a switch that a computer can control, only the computer has no hands so it must turn things on and off differently than a human. A computer can send positive or negative signals, and it can “sense” them as well. That wire coming out of the left leg of the MOSFET? That is where the MOSFET is waiting to sense a positive or negative signal.
The signal actually comes from your body when you touch either the positive or negative side of the circuit. So, you are speaking the language of electronics when you do that! And the Fairy Lights will turn on and off at your command!
Troubleshooting
If your circuit is not working as expected, time to investigate! First spend some time checking everything against the instructions. Then, have a look around where you are and “read” the situation. Would it be appropriate to ask a friend for help? This is a great way of getting help if you have someone nearby and it’s okay to chat.
How about calling someone on your phone or computer? Would that be okay? Decide the best way to get help based on where you are and how you read your situation.
Some common issues that people run into include:
Making sure your Fairy Light switch is on, and that it has batteries in it’s case.
Squeezing all the spots where different wires connect to each other. Maybe the connection is not strong enough and this is a good way to test it.
Making sure the positive wire is sanded down where you are touching it.
Making sure you are holding the metal tip of the sensing wire (the wire on the MOSFET’s left leg) when you touch either the positive or negative wires on your circuit.
How Can This Circuit Be Used?
Fire Nation Hat
Mr. James added the touch circuit to a hat! When he wears the hat, the wire on the *left* leg of the MOSFET presses against his skin on his forehead. This is the *sensing* wire that is waiting for a positive or negative signal. Then Mr. James touches either the left or right side of the hat, where the positive and negative wires are glued down, and the hat turns off or on!
Dragon Cloak
This touch circuit has also made appearances on the MakeFashion Edu runway! Check out this dragon cloak made in Tucson, Arizona. The designer extended all the wires to different spots on her body. She holds a wire pendant at her heart, and then with her other hand touches either her shoulder or elbow.
When touching her shoulder, the gesture looks like a hug and her lights turn off because she is showing friendship. When she touches her elbow, the gesture is like arms crossed in anger. The lights come on and you have to watch out, because she is activating her dragon powers!
About MakeFashion
MakeFashion Edu is an international non-profit working to promote learning through fashion and tech. Through hosting workshops, reach-out and push-in activities, and larger events, MakeFashion Edu sees providing access for young designers to go to industry and project-based learning as one way to pull local communities together.
SteamHead makerspace is a network of people, spaces, and events who collaborate to improve equity in education as the path forward. We believe that by embracing design thinking and a maker-mindset, education can be more engaging and meaningful, and with that more effective in preparing students for success. Check their website for their courses.
Materials:
- MOSFET, model #FQP30N06
- Fairy Wire
- Pin and Socket wires
- 2 batteries, CR2032 (may come with the fairy wire)
- safety glasses
- sand paper
- a soldering iron
- scissors
- wire strippers (optional but helpful)
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 Kâ12 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.
CCSS (Common Core State Standards)
The Common Core is a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy (ELA).Measurement & Data
- Grades K-2
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.MD.A.1 Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight. Describe several measurable attributes of a single object.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.MD.A.1 Order three objects by length; compare the lengths of two objects indirectly by using a third object.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.MD.A.2 Express the length of an object as a whole number of length units, by laying multiple copies of a shorter object (the length unit) end to end; understand that the length measurement of an object is the number of same-size length units that span it with no gaps or overlaps.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.MD.A.1 Measure the length of an object by selecting and using appropriate tools such as rulers, yardsticks, meter sticks, and measuring tapes.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.MD.A.2 Measure the length of an object twice, using length units of different lengths for the two measurements; describe how the two measurements relate to the size of the unit chosen.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.MD.A.3 Estimate lengths using units of inches, feet, centimeters, and meters.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.MD.A.4 Measure to determine how much longer one object is than another, expressing the length difference in terms of a standard length unit.
- Grades 3-5
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.B.3 Draw a scaled picture graph and a scaled bar graph to represent a data set with several categories. Solve one- and two-step "how many more" and "how many less" problems using information presented in scaled bar graphs.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.MD.A.1 Know relative sizes of measurement units within one system of units including km, m, cm; kg, g; lb, oz.; l, ml; hr, min, sec. Within a single system of measurement, express measurements in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.MD.C.5 Recognize angles as geometric shapes that are formed wherever two rays share a common endpoint, and understand concepts of angle measurement.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.MD.A.1 Convert among different-sized standard measurement units within a given measurement system (e.g., convert 5 cm to 0.05 m), and use these conversions in solving multi-step, real world problems.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.MD.C.3 Recognize volume as an attribute of solid figures and understand concepts of volume measurement.
Ratios & Proportional Relationships
- Middle School
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.RP.A.1 Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.RP.A.3 Use ratio and rate reasoning to solve real-world and mathematical problems, e.g., by reasoning about tables of equivalent ratios, tape diagrams, double number line diagrams, or equations.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.RP.A.1 Compute unit rates associated with ratios of fractions, including ratios of lengths, areas and other quantities measured in like or different units.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.RP.A.2 Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities.
CCSS (Common Core State Standards)
The Common Core is a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy (ELA).Geometry
- Grades K-2
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.A.1 Describe objects in the environment using names of shapes, and describe the relative positions of these objects using terms such as above, below, beside, in front of, behind, and next to.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.A.2 Correctly name shapes regardless of their orientations or overall size.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.A.3 Identify shapes as two-dimensional (lying in a plane, "flat") or three-dimensional ("solid").
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.B.5 Model shapes in the world by building shapes from components (e.g., sticks and clay balls) and drawing shapes.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.B.6 Compose simple shapes to form larger shapes.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.G.A.1 Distinguish between defining attributes (e.g., triangles are closed and three-sided) versus non-defining attributes (e.g., color, orientation, overall size); build and draw shapes to possess defining attributes.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.G.A.2 Compose two-dimensional shapes (rectangles, squares, trapezoids, triangles, half-circles, and quarter-circles) or three-dimensional shapes (cubes, right rectangular prisms, right circular cones, and right circular cylinders) to create a composite shape, and compose new shapes from the composite shape.
- Grades 3-5
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.G.A.3 Recognize a line of symmetry for a two-dimensional figure as a line across the figure such that the figure can be folded along the line into matching parts. Identify line-symmetric figures and draw lines of symmetry.
- Middle School
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.G.A.4 Represent three-dimensional figures using nets made up of rectangles and triangles, and use the nets to find the surface area of these figures. Apply these techniques in the context of solving real-world and mathematical problems.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.G.A.1 Solve problems involving scale drawings of geometric figures, including computing actual lengths and areas from a scale drawing and reproducing a scale drawing at a different scale.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.G.A.2 Draw (freehand, with ruler and protractor, and with technology) geometric shapes with given conditions. Focus on constructing triangles from three measures of angles or sides, noticing when the conditions determine a unique triangle, more than one triangle, or no triangle.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.G.A.3 Describe the two-dimensional figures that result from slicing three-dimensional figures, as in plane sections of right rectangular prisms and right rectangular pyramids.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.G.A.1 Verify experimentally the properties of rotations, reflections, and translations.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.G.A.3 Describe the effect of dilations, translations, rotations, and reflections on two-dimensional figures using coordinates.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.G.A.4 Understand that a two-dimensional figure is similar to another if the second can be obtained from the first by a sequence of rotations, reflections, translations, and dilations; given two similar two-dimensional figures, describe a sequence that exhibits the similarity between them.
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.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.CCSS (Common Core State Standards)
The Common Core is a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy (ELA).English Language Arts Standards Âğ Science & Technical Subjects
- Middle School
-
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- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.3 Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.4 Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 6-8 texts and topics.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.5 Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to an understanding of the topic.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.6 Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text.
-
- High School
-
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.3 Follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks, attending to special cases or exceptions defined in the text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 9-10 texts and topics.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.5 Analyze the structure of the relationships among concepts in a text, including relationships among key terms (e.g., force, friction, reaction force, energy).
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.6 Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, defining the question the author seeks to address.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to important distinctions the author makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the account.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.3 Follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks; analyze the specific results based on explanations in the text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 11-12 texts and topics.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.5 Analyze how the text structures information or ideas into categories or hierarchies, demonstrating understanding of the information or ideas.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.6 Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, identifying important issues that remain unresolved.
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 Kâ12 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 Kâ12 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.
NGSS 3-5.Engineering Design
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are Kâ12 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.
