The Influenza Replication Diagram (IRD) is a beautiful educational tool that utilizes LEDs to help children better understand the different stages of viral replication.

Supplies

Supplies needed to make the IRD:

1 X breadboard 9 X LEDs 9 X resistors (depends on the colors you use) 1 X board of wood 1 X strip of velcro 1 X Arduino Uno 18 X male to female jumper wires 1 X male to male jumper wire

Instruments used in production of IRD:

lasercutter

drill

computer

Step 1: Step 1: Laser Cut Diagram Unto Wood

The design we used is provided as a dxf file. You are welcome to make the diagram as large or as small as you like—just remember to properly size it according to the size of your wood before printing. We used a board of approximately 17.25 by 25 inches.

virusdiagram2.dxf
Download

Step 2: Step 2: Set Up LEDs on Breadboard

The following diagram illustrates where to place the LEDs, jumper wires and resistors:

Step 3: Step 3: Adding Male to Female Jumper Wires to Breadboard

Insert LED into the jumper wire. Insert the wire for the positive end in the place that the LED positive end was in previously, and do the same for the negative end wire. Do only one LED at a time to prevent losing track of where the wires should go.

Step 4: Step 4: Programing the Arduino

The following is the code used on the Arduino. If your breadboard is set up exactly like ours, you can just copy and paste and then upload onto the Arduino.

int led1 = 2;

int led2 = 3;

int led3 = 4;

int led4 = 5;

int led5 = 6;

int led6 = 7;

int led7 = 8;

int led8 = 9;

int led9 = 10;

long lightTimer;

int timer = 500;

int lightOn = 1;

int lightOff = 0;

void setup() {

// put your setup code here, to run once:

pinMode(led1, OUTPUT);

pinMode(led2, OUTPUT);

pinMode(led3, OUTPUT);

pinMode(led4, OUTPUT);

pinMode(led5, OUTPUT);

pinMode(led6, OUTPUT);

pinMode(led7, OUTPUT);

pinMode(led8, OUTPUT);

pinMode(led9, OUTPUT);

lightTimer = millis();

}

void loop() {

// put your main code here, to run repeatedly:

digitalWrite(lightOn +1, HIGH);

digitalWrite(lightOff +1, LOW);

if(millis() - lightTimer > timer){

lightOn = (lightOn + 1) % 9;

lightOff = (lightOff + 1) % 9;

lightTimer = millis();

}

Step 5: Step 5: Drill Holes in the Appropriate Places

We used a drill to make the holes. Use the following photo as a reference for where to place the holes

Step 6: Step 6: Place Velcro on Back of the Wood, Breadboard and Arduino

Place velcro on back of the wood, breadboard and Arduino. Then attach the breadboard and Arduino to the wood with the help of the velcro.

Step 7: Step 7: Put It All Together!

A good rule of thumb is to first insert the led into the hole on the top (laser cut portion) of the wood, and then add the jumper wire that connects to the breadboard. Once again do only one LED at a time to avoid confusion. The final product should look something like this mess: