How to Design an Electric Light House

Studying real lighthouses can give you ideas for your own electric lighthouse.

Building an electric lighthouse is a simple way to learn about both electric circuits and lighthouses. If you teach this project to a class, it can be a great reason to take them out to a local lighthouse if there is one to explain their function and how they work, giving them their own ideas of how to design an electric lighthouse.

Things You'll Need

• Cardboard tube
• Small bulb
• Bulb holder
• Wiring
• Battery
• Paper fasteners
• Paperclips
• Small clear plastic tub
• Paint

Instructions

1. Gather your materials. While a simple lighthouse can be made from cardboard, you might choose to use different materials. If you are experienced with clay then you might sculpt your lighthouse from that, but remember to keep it hollow for the wiring. You will need all the electronics for your lighthouse to operate correctly. If you would rather use certain materials over others then adapt your design to accommodate these changes. You will also need to plan for decorating your lighthouse. You can use paint, colored paper, markers, or papier-mache.

2. Design your circuit. The circuit is the way your battery, bulb and holder and any switches are held together. It's important to know what this will look like before you assemble your lighthouse. First you will need to connect the battery terminals to the bulb holder. This should light the bulb. For a more complex project, link one terminal of the battery to the bulb holder and the other to a paper fastener that is pushed through a small piece of cardboard. The bulb holder should have a second wire attached to it that leads to a second paper fastener in the same small piece of cardboard. In this case, join the two paper fasteners with a paperclip to complete the circuit and activate the bulb.

3. Build the shell of your lighthouse. Now that you have the circuit and it is fully working, you can build the exterior of your lighthouse around it. If you use a cardboard tube this will mean running the bulb through it to the top. Decorate the tube before assembling. Once the bulb is through the tube, hold it in place inside the small clear plastic tub by cutting a hole in either side of the tub and pushing the bulb through the hole.

Tips & Warnings

• If the bulb in the lighthouse does not come on there may be several explanations such as an incomplete circuit. This means your wiring does not join properly all the way around your circuit. Check all your connections. Check other obvious possibilities such as a dead bulb or dead battery.

References

• Primary Science; Make a Lighthouse