Hey guys! This is my first Instructable, and I'm entering it in the First Time Author contest, so if you enjoy it please vote for me. Thank you!

This is an Instructable that will teach you to make an automatic desk lamp that will light up when the room it is in gets dark.

I decided to make this because I find that I often forget to turn the lights on when I should, and I spend a lot of time at my desk. I read and work a lot, and sometimes the light from my monitor is not enough to light my desk up, but the idea of turning my lamp on slips my mind. With this, I no longer have to worry about that.

Step 1: Gathering Supplies

Things You Will Need:

4 jumper cables. The colors do not matter pertaining to the actual circuit, but I will be naming them by color in the building instructions.

1 Arduino UNO.

1 breadboard.

2 resistors, one 10k ohms, and the other 330 ohms.

1 photocell.

1 LED, in the color of your choice.

1 USB cable to connect the Arduino to your computer.

Cardboard or LEGOs, depending on which you want your case to be made of.

Step 2: Wiring the Breadboard

The board is wired as shown. If you need help, please read the following:

Set up the Arduino UNO and breadboard so that the UNO is above the breadboard. Connect the blue wire to the back of the UNO as shown, and then to hole 26 in the breadboard. The white wire goes from the front of the UNO as shown to hole 16. The black wire is one space to the left of the white wire, and goes into hole 20. The red wire is two to the left of the black wire and goes into hole 13.

The 330 ohm resistor has the wire on the right at number 26 and letter g on the breadboard, with the second wire at hole 22. The 10k resistor has the right wire two to the right of the 330 ohm resistor, and has the left wire in hole 15.

The photocell is right below the 10k resistor, with its left wire in hole 12.

And finally, the LED is just below the 330 ohm resistor, with its right wire in hole 20.

Step 3: LEGO Casing

I will be showing you how to make a casing out of LEGO, but you can use another material such as cardboard or Styrofoam; all that really matters is the shape.

Step 4: The Finished Product

After everything is done, the project should look like this is a dark room. You can edit the sensorDark constant in the code if you want to adjust the amount of light needed for the LED to light up.

Thank you for reading my Instructable. If you liked it, please vote on it for the First Time Author contest. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to comment or contact me.