of the battery uncovered so the positive LED wires can touch the bare
metal.
• Bend the positive LED wires down until they’re almost touching the
positive side of the battery. This is your on-off switch (or pressure
sensor). The circuit closes when the positive wires touch the positive
side of the battery.
• Fold the frog back up. To test your circuit, press down on the back
of the frog. The eyes should light up. The positive LED wires should
touch the battery to close the circuit and light up the frog’s eyes
(Figure
Aa
)
. Let go, and the lights should turn off while the frog hops in
the air
(Figure
Bb
)
!
TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS
If it doesn’t work, look for things that can cause problems:
• The “switch”: If the lights don’t go on, try bending the top wires a little
closer. If they don’t go off, bend the wires a bit further away.
• The direction of the LEDs: Do both LEDs have their negative wires
below the battery and their positive wires above?
• The direction of the battery: If both LEDs are facing the same way, but
backwards, you can flip the battery over to make it work.
• Loose connections: Does metal touch metal on all connections? Is the
non-conductive clear tape in the way?
• Short circuits: Do negative and positive wires or conductive tape touch
each other, or touch the wrong side of the battery?
GO BEYOND
What other origami designs can you add circuits to? Try the origami luna
moth from Sandy Roberts’ book The Big Book of Maker Camp Projects. You
can find instructions on the Maker Camp site: makercamp.com/projects/
lightup-origami-butterfly.
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