LED Light-up Cards

I recently finished the holiday LED project where we created holiday cards containing small LED lights connected to circuits made of copper tape. First, you created image or pattern design using paper scraps on the front of your card. Then, you make a plan for the circuits. Your circuit design must be thoroughly thought through in order for the lights to work. The type of circuit you must build is called a ladder, because the LED wires look like steps of a ladder, placed on the two main beams on either side of the circuit (made of copper tape).

See how the circuit looks like a ladder

After that you solder metal onto the breaks in the copper and use the melted metal to stick the LED wires onto the copper tape as well. And then, after adding a coin battery and ending the circuits, your card should be all set. I think I learned a lot about circuits and engineering in this project. If I could change anything about it though, I think I would have a more organized way of building the cards. During the project there were people running around and soldering for no purpose, or something crazy, and I think that if only we'd had a more intriguing and organized way of introducing and making the cards, the environment would be less chaotic and all students would be able to have a great learning experience. Other than that, I thought the project was great and Mr. Aringo did an excellent job teaching. Be sure to check out some cool LED patterns and circuits like the ones below!

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