In moments of hypo- or hyperarousal, when the thinking brain is offline, this Arduino-based Calming Book Box will prompt self-regulation with a wave of the hand. Inspired by Tinkercad's Crystal Ball project and Instructable user cah65's Arduino Powered Fortune Teller, a liquid crystal display reveals a series of nervous systems regulation activities each time the photoresistor reads a decrease in light. This beginner-intermediate level project is highly customizable in terms of its purpose, code, and visual end product.

Supplies

I am notorious for not practicing this myself, but truly-- gather your supplies first and reduce your frustration. For my version, I needed:

Circuitry

Arduino Uno Rev3
USB-A to USB-B Cable
computer
breadboard
jumper wires in assorted lengths & colors
220Ω resistor
330Ω resistor
5 kΩ resistor
photoresistor
crystal LED display

Software

Tools

safety glasses
drill with 1/4" bit or device to poke holes
utility knife or scroll saw
engineer square or ruler

Art Supplies (can be modified/personalized)

book box (alternatively, cardboard or cigar box)
pencil
Mod Podge glue
foam paintbrush
dried flowers
plastic bag

Step 1: Develop Theme

Before you dive in, spend some time sketching out ideas about how to make this project beneficial to your life. Will it be self- or co-regulation strategies for a classroom? For your family? Or personal to you?

Step 2: Set Up the Circuit

If you are new to Arduino, before attempting this custom project, I highly recommend practicing with Tinkercad's Project 11: Crystal Ball while simultaneously viewing @Mr.DudaSTEM's video tutorial.

If you are ready to dive into this project, this is the customized setup for the Calming Book Box.

On Arduino, attach red wire to 5V and black to GRD.
On breadboard, attach red to + and black to -.
Position photoresistor in row F.
Add new jumper wire on row F and connect to 5V rail.
Place 5 kΩ resistor on row I and connect to - (GRD) rail.
Add blue jumper wire from A0 input pin on Arduino to row H near photoresistor.
To set up the contrast of the crystal LCD screen, add a 330Ω resistor in from row E to row G.
Connect to GRD rail with black wire from row J to - rail.
Add red jumper wire from row J to + (5V) rail.
Wire the resistor to the V0 pin on the crystal LCD with a blue wire from row D.
Power the LCD
There are 16 metal pins on the crystal LCD. Use 3 black wires and ground the display at pins 1, 5, and 16.
To input power to the LCD screen, connect red wire from pin 2 to the 5V rail.
At pin 15, connect another red wire from row E to F. Then, power pin 15 by adding a 220Ω resistor from row J to the 5V rail.
Set up data communication
Connect LCD pin 11 with a red wire to Arduino digital pin 5
Connect LCD pin 12 with a green wire to digital pin 4
Connect LCD pin 13 with a black wire to digital pin 3
Connect LCD pin 14 with a blue wire to digital pin 2
Connect LCD pin 4 with an orange wire to digital pin 9
Connect LCD pin 6 with a white wire to digital pin 8

Step 3: Code Your Sketch

Code Notes

This code is easily customizable to myriad purposes, whether for a classroom, family, personal use, or other randomized response systems.

To adjust the total number of options, go to

reply = random(32); //pick a number from 0 to 32 and change the number accordingly

To change a response,

case 4: lcd.print("glitter jar"); find the case reply you want to change and alter the content inside the quotation marks on that line (max 16 characters)

Link to Arduino Web Create Sketch

https://create.arduino.cc/editor/mbbluma283/d477eaf1-e3c9-49be-a2db-f77bba6b082c/preview

Copy/Paste of Code

#include <LiquidCrystal.h>

LiquidCrystal lcd(9, 8, 5, 4, 3, 2);

int reply;

int lightCal;

int lightVal;

void setup() {

pinMode(A0, INPUT);

lightCal = analogRead(A0);

Serial.begin(9600);

lcd.begin(16, 2);

lcd.print("You matter.");

delay(3000); // Wait for 3000 millisecond(s)

lcd.setCursor(0, 1);

lcd.print("You r important");

delay(3000); // Wait for 3000 millisecond(s)

}

void loop()

{

lightVal = analogRead(A0);

if (lightVal < lightCal - 50) {

reply = random(32); //pick a number from 0 to 32

lcd.clear();

lcd.setCursor(0, 0);

lcd.print("Coping idea:");

lcd.setCursor(0, 1 );

switch (reply) {

case 0: lcd.print("tree pose");