Get out of my chocolates! Stay out of my desk drawer! This little alarm circuit will help to keep your goodies safe - whether it's your secret stash of chocolate in the office, or your diary in the bedroom drawer....

You will need:

Tools
Soldering iron
Wire
Pliers
Wire strippers
Solder

Components
9V Battery
6V Buzzer
NPN Transistor
100r Resistor
10K Resistor
LDR

Something to case it all in - whatever takes your fancy! (See step 2 for more information on this part...)

The education bits

I normally run this project with KS3 students (11-14 year olds), as part of an all-round approach to Design Technology, incorporating systems and control with resistant materials. Dependant on age and ability, all students either make simple wooden casings, using box joints, or we do this as part of a sustainability, and use recycled packaging to house the alarm. This instructable only really covers the circuit itself, there'll be more coming on casings soon.

Learning Objectives

all to be able to give examples of the applications of simple electronic components
most should be able to suggest alternative applications for the buzzer and LDR
some may be able to explain how to reverse the action of the alarm (to become dark activated), and spot trends with the use of components.

Project Aims

improve skills with soldering
to be able to suggest interesting and innovative ways of casing the alarm
to consider the user, and target products appropriately

Step 1: The Circuit

Using the diagram, solder up your circuit. When looking at the transistor, work with the lettering/flat side towards you.

When soldering, please remember to make sure you are in a well ventiled area, and wearing safety glasses and any other protective equipment you are comfortable with (apron or similar).

Step 2: The Casing

This is a bit of a free for all - it depends on how hidden you want your alarm to be!

At school, we make our alarms inside wooden casings, and combine it with a wood-joints project. However, other suitable things could be....

Film canisters
Chocolate boxes
Old books
CD cases
Jewellery boxes

basically, anything that can be opened and closed (to change the battery), and can have a hole drilled through it to place the LDR. You need to make the spacing for the LDR slightly smaller than the component, so that it can be put on the surface and not fall back through - OR make it an identical size, and then glue it in place.