Make-HER Goes to ALAAC15!
#LadyMakers Lindsay Balfour and Tenaya Hurst helped spread the word about the Make-HER program at American Library Association’s 2015 conference in San Francisco. You can read about the presentation here.
Librarians from around the country got to try their hands at this mini Make-HER project designed and led by Lindsay. To make your own glowing paper circuitry jewel, all that’s needed is a 3 volt battery, conductive copper tape, an LED light, a small binder clip, and this paper template (this is a set of four).
For complete instructions, click through this slide show.
MaKey MaKey at Home
Corinne Okada Takara has used MaKey MaKey devices and laptop computers to teach about connectivity, circuitry, and design thinking. To try the following lessons at home, you will need a MaKey MaKey device, a computer, and conductive/non-conductive craft materials of your choice (e.g., play dough, pipe cleaners, cardboard, colored paper). MaKey MaKey devices are available on Amazon or direct through MaKey MaKey. For help getting started with your MaKey MaKey device, go to the MaKey MaKey Quick Start Guide.
Wearable Technology at Home
#LadyMaker Tenaya Hurst provided each mother/daughter team with a wearable technology sewing kit and taught them to make interactive garments using conductive thread, LED lights, and LilyPad microcontrollers. As Tenaya explains, “This activity is a great way to learn about electricity, while still having something to show for it when you’re done. In doing the activity, no one is ever bad or wrong, it’s just that the light isn’t on. Then we just have to keep trying new things to find success.”
Here are Tenaya’s basic steps for sewing with conductive thread.
Building your soft circuitry with the LilyPad microcontroller and conductive thread takes some careful planning because, as Tenaya reminds us, “electricity has rules.” Here are instructions for creating a simple circuit with a single LED light.
Once you’ve found success with a single LED light, you can add more.
For an extra challenge, try building more complex circuitry with a second microcontroller. Remember, positive to positive and negative to negative!
As shown in this diagram, your positively and negatively charged threads must never cross. That’s part of the design challenge!
Lumos! Magical Circuits at Home
Using only a wooden dowel, LED gumdrop, copper tape, watch battery, and electrical tape you can build your own Harry Potter wand! #LadyMaker Lauren Holditch Cage shows us how in this detailed slide show. Use the forward, back, and pause buttons to view the slide show at your own pace.
Paper Engineering at Home
Using only paper, tape, fasteners, and special rolling and folding techniques, you can build structures strong enough to protect a delicate object or even stand on. It all starts with paper triangles. Follow #LadyMaker Lindsay Balfour’s detailed instructions below to see how.
Hack Your Childhood at Home
Lauren Cage and Erin Salter of Tinker Belles teach you how to give your favorite childhood book new life by adding pop-ups, texture, and lights.
Tips and tricks:
- Try using one long line of tape instead of many pieces
- Sandwich LED leads between 2 pieces of copper tape for a better connection
- Make sure you connect the positive (longer) lead of the LED to the tape coming from the positive side of the battery
- When you attach your tape to the top of the battery, make sure to put the non-sticky side of the tape on the battery first, and then attach the tape to the battery with another layer of copper tape
- Draw out what you think your circuit should look like before you put the tape down
- Different LED colors use different amounts of power from the battery, so it’s more reliable to use only one color per circuit
- Separate the LED legs when attaching them to the circuit and bend the positive leg so it is easy to remember
Can’t get enough of paper circuits?? Check out these resources.
Want to see upcoming Tinker Belles workshops or plan your own workshop with us? Check out the Tinker Belles webpage and visit them on Facebook!
Magical Twinkling Fairy Houses at Home
Lauren Cage and Erin Salter of Tinker Belles teach 3-D paper circuitry through miniature, light-up fairy houses.
Tips and tricks:
- Try using one long line of tape instead of many pieces
- Sandwich LED leads between 2 pieces of copper tape for a better connection
- Make sure you connect the positive (longer) lead of the LED to the tape coming from the positive side of the battery
- When you attach your tape to the top of the battery, make sure to put the non-sticky side of the tape on the battery first, and then attach the tape to the battery with another layer of copper tape
- Draw out what you think your circuit should look like before you put the tape down
- Different LED colors use different amounts of power from the battery, so it’s more reliable to use only one color per circuit
- Separate the LED legs when attaching them to the circuit and bend the positive leg so it is easy to remember
Can’t get enough of paper circuits?? Check out these resources.
Want to see upcoming Tinker Belles workshops or plan your own workshop with us? Check out the Tinker Belles webpage and visit them on Facebook!
DIY Makerspace at Home
Are you interested in building your own makerspace at home? Here are some of the items we used in our Make-HER workshops. You may already have many of them! For more makerspace goodies and lots of great ideas, visit makershed.com, evilmadscientist.com, adafruit.com, and the youtube channel of 13-year-old maker sensation Super Awesome Sylvia.
- copper tape
- duct tape
- conductive thread
- large-eye sewing needles
- pipe cleaners
- play dough
- buttons
- googly eyes
- construction paper
- ion lithium batteries
- LED lights
- needle nose pliers
- scissors
- craft utility knife
- self-healing cutting mat
- recycled materials (cardboard, plastics, tubes)
Sunnyvale Library Make-HER Program 