Introduction: Project Mood Lamp

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With this tutorial you will design and create a simple circuit to make a mood lamp that uses a coin cell battery, alligator clips, and one LED light.

Step 1: Materials & Tools

  • Plastic bottle (around 20 fl oz)
  • 1 LED
  • 3 alligator clips
  • 1 coin cell battery
  • Battery holder
  • Scotch tape
  • Scissors
  • Markers
  • Paper

Step 2: Make a Plan

What is your idea for the lamp? How should it look like? What do you want make? How is your lamp going to work? How will the circuit be connected?

You can use this template for your design.

Step 3: Cut the Bottle

Now that you have gathered all the materials and have a clear idea of what you're making it is time to start crafting!

  1. Remove all labels from the bottle.
  2. Choose the height at which you want to cut the bottle. Most bottles have horizontal lines on them, it might be a good idea to use one of these lines as a guide.
  3. Be careful with your fingers and cut the bottle using scissors. If there's an adult near you, ask them if they can help you cut the bottle using a box cutter.
  4. The edges of the bottle might be sharp, use some scotch tape to cover them.

Step 4: Measure and Cut the Paper

  1. Take a sheet of paper and put it inside the bottle.
  2. Mark where the paper touches the edge of the bottle.
  3. Take a look at the paper inside the bottle and mark where it starts overlapping.
  4. Remove the paper from the bottle and put it on a flat surface.
  5. Fold it following your marks.
  6. Cut it with scissors.

Step 5: Draw Your Design and Your Circuit

  1. Start by drawing on the piece of paper, decorate your lamp as desired. This is the side of the paper that people will see when your lamp is assembled.
  2. Then turn around the paper and draw your circuit. This side of the paper will go inside of the lamp.

Step 6: Connect the LED to the Alligator Clips

Remember that the LED has a positive leg and a negative leg. In the pictures we are connecting the positive leg to the red alligator clip and the negative leg to the black one.

Step 7: Connect the Battery to the Alligator Clips

  1. Put the battery in the battery holder.
  2. Use the red alligator clip that is connected to the LED and connect it to one of the positive holes of the battery holder.
  3. Take another alligator clip (not the one connected to the LED) and plug it into one of the negative holes of the battery holder.
  4. We are going to use the two alligator clips connected to ground (the one we just connected to the battery holder and the one we connected to the LED) to create a switch and turn on and off the lamp.

Step 8: Turn It On!

  1. Connect the alligator clips together! The alligator clips work like a switch. If they are connected the light goes on and if they are not connected the light goes off.
  2. Make sure you tape the alligator clips to the paper.

Step 9: Roll the Paper and Put It Inside the Bottle

Step 10: Create a Handle Using the Wire of the Alligator Clips

  1. Make two vertical cuts on the edges of the bottle. We will use these cuts to pass the wire through.
  2. Pass the wire through the cuts and cover it with tape so that it doesn't come out.
  3. Now if you connect the alligator clips you will have a handle that powers the LED!
  4. You can also turn off your lamp by disconnecting the alligators clips.
  5. If you want to use the handle when the lamp is off, simply attach the alligator clip to the bottle.

Step 11: Enjoy Your Mood Lamp!