Cardboard Circuitry Starting Points

As part of the LEGO playful museum network, I’m working with Tinkering Studio, Connecticut Science Center and other partners to develop a new ‘tinkering inventive playset’ where learners can combine cardboard construction and circuits and then add their creation to a shared installation.

Some of the prototypes that we’ve been working on involve designing both individual testing stations as well as the shared surface. We want that transition to be as smooth as possible so that people can easily add their project to the installation. One activity that we’ve been inspired by is ‘light play’ where participants can use alligator clips and copper nails to attach to power at the testing station and use the same connection points when adding their piece to the shared grid.

One question that I’m experimenting with is what type of power pack should we use for the activity. I’m experimenting with a 3xAA battery pack (with rechargable battery pack), a mini 3V battery pack and a programmed garden solar light.

One initial experiment is creating little cardboard squares with a battery pack and the copper tape at the same distance as the shared space. These can allow participants to iterate on their designs and investigate new ideas before adding their creation to the collaborative installation.

Here are a couple of examples of possible designs and connection points. The first one uses blinking LEDs and little jumper cable connectors. For the second one I experimented with making a aluminum foil switch on the house that could trigger the light on and off.

The next thing that I tried were these garden solar lights. I found a device that’s similar to the units that I was working with during a project with ETH on sustainable tinkering but that’s a little easier to work with because of the exposed wires. I snipped off the string lights and attached alligator clips to the leads. One discovery that I made that was really cool is that the programmed patterns work by flipping the polarity of the LEDs. I think that this system could be a really neat way of incorporating renewable energy to the system.

Another prototype that I’m playing around with is the idea of a station powered by a 3xAA battery pack that has spaces with resistors for different colored LEDs and a place to power a hobby gear motor. I think this type of station has a lot of potential for interesting personalized creations. I’m excited about the idea of bridging the gap between wooden block circuit boards and programmable microcontrollers. This cardboard surface, inspired by the look and feel of scrappy circuits, could act like a simple printed circuit board and open up questions about electronic components, resistors and LEDs. We’ll keep experimenting with these ideas and making new examples to go with the starting point stations.

The LEGO Playful Learning Museum Network initiative is made possible through generous support from the LEGO Group.