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Making a Paper House that lights up as it gets dark!In this tutorial we will show you how to make a paper house that lights up as it gets dark. To do this we will use some Bare Paint, a battery, some standard LEDs, an LDR (light dependent resistor), a transistor and a 100K resistor. To help you complete this project we've made the components and template available to buy in the House Kit available from our shop. Alternatively you can source them yourself via the links below. Lets Begin: Materials you will needScissors ComponentsTo purchase a House Kit with everything you need to make two houses, click here Bare Paint (if you are using a jar you will also need a paint brush) House Template can be downloaded here. Step 1: Download, print and cut out your templatesClick here to download your template. Cut out the template along the solid black outline.
Step 2: Cut out the windows door, and the chimney space for the LDROnce you have finished cutting out along the outline, cut out the windows, door and LDR space, using your craft knife and ruler. Don't forget the cut out the Chimney space for the LDR.
Step 3: Create Fold LinesIf you run the BACK of your craft knife blade along the fold line it will create a dent that will make it easier to fold. It is important to use the BACK of the knife so as not to accidentally cut the paper
Step 4: Fold up your templateOnce you have created your fold lines, fold up your house. At this stage you could decorate your house, why not draw on window boxes or roof shingles.....
Step 5: Sticking double sided tape on the tabs.Once you have folded your house, cut and stick double sided tape onto the tabs. Make sure you stick the tape on the BLANK side of the template. If you would like to be able to remove the battery don't stick tape on this section of the template; this will enable you to remove the battery once the house is completed.
Step 6: Preparing Your ComponentsOnce you have stuck double sided tape on all the tabs, its time to prepare all your components, as you can see on your template, all of the components have corresponding icons to enable you both to see where they go in the circuit and help you put them in the right way round. TransistorThe Transistor has three legs, it also has a flat side and a rounded side. Bend the left and right legs out to the left and right sides and the middle leg out towards the rounded side. Place the transistor onto the template, you should have the middle leg and the rounded side facing left. LEDsLEDs (Light Emitting Diode) have two legs and are polarised - the long leg is the positive (+) the short leg is the negative (-). The LED icons on the template are the circle with the triangles, you'll notice that there is also a (+) and a (-), these should correspond to the legs on the LEDs. If you look from the top down at the LED you'll notice that it is not completely round, there is a flat side. This flat side should be on the same side as the short leg of the LED the flat side is like the negative symbol (-). If you trim the legs it will help you see which side is the negative side. Trim the legs of the LED with your snips. Bend the legs of the LEDs out and place on the template. Remember to put the negative (flat) side at the top and the positive at the bottom. ResistorThe 100K resistor has two legs but unlike some of the other components it is not polarised so it does not matter which way round it goes. Trim the legs to be about 1cm long and place onto the template. LDRLDR (Light Dependant Resistor). It does not matter which way round this component goes as it is not polarised, however remember to put it in FACING OUTWARDS, so that the top goes through the hole. Trim the legs of the LDR with your snips. Bend the legs and place on the circuit, FACING OUTWARDS. Battery ClipThe red leads of the clip is the positive (+) and the black lead is the negative (-) Trim and strip the lead so that they are approximately 5cm long. If you don't have strippers you may be able to do this very carefully with the craft knife. Using some double sided tape stick the back of the plastic part of the clip to the template. Take some masking tape and stick the red and black lead to the template, making sure the exposed cables line up to the grey lines.
Step 7: Glue your components to the paper with Bare PaintNow that you have prepared all the components its time to stick them down. The easiest way to do this is with a Bare Paint Pen, but you can also use a Bare Paint Jar and paint brush. Blob on a bit of paint onto all the legs of the component and the exposed wire of the battery clip leads. Make sure to stay within the grey area, don't worry too much but it will keep your house cleaner, it is always nice to have a clean house. It might be easier to lift the component off the page, blob on some paint then stick the component back.
Step 8: Fill in the rest of the circuitOnce all the components have been stuck down, draw in the rest of the grey circuit connecting up all the components. Once you have finished drawing the circuit, wait for it to dry. Step 9: Put in the Battery.Once your circuit has dried, clip the battery into the clip. The LDR should be facing down onto the table so the LEDs should be on when you put the battery in. TroubleshootingIf your LEDs don't turn on at this stage don't fret, there's a few things you can try - 1. Is your paint completely dry? If not leave it overnight or put in a warm place.
Step 10: Fold up your houseNow that everything is dry and installed you can fold it up.
Now that your house is complete, it should light up as it gets dark!
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