Make a Light-Up Solar-Powered Paper House With Chibitronic Circuit Sticker LEDs

Here's a kid-friendly project that lets you light up a paper model house and garden without batteries! It's a great way to learn about electrical circuits and solar power.

To make the LEDs glow, just shine a flashlight on a tiny solar panel attached to the roof, or place it under a bright lamp or in a sunny spot. I used Circuit Sticker LEDs by Chibitronics because they are designed to stick to conductive tape on paper, so they make putting the circuit together very easy. The stickers have onboard resistors which makes it easier to mix different colors (which have different voltage requirements). Regular LEDs will also work.

You can buy small 3V solar panels, but in my classes I like to show students how to liberate the panel from a cheap solar garden light. See the instructions below for how to do that.

• Copper Tape
• Conductive Fabric Tape Patches
• 3-4 Circuit Stickers in assorted colors
• 1 Solar Garden Light or Solar Panel
• clear tape and/or double-sided scrapbooking tape

This house and garden fence was designed to be simple enough to cut out by hand. You can print the template for both on one sheet of 8 1/2 by 11 inch cardstock.

Inside the house is a white Circuit Sticker LED that shines through the frosted window. The fence is decorated with red, yellow, and orange LEDs. Those colors will light up even when the amount of electricity produced by the solar panel goes down. (LEDs towards the red end of the color spectrum will run on less power than colors towards the violet end, like blue.)

1. Cut out the house and scored and fold the sides along the dotted lines. (The printed side is the inside of the house.)
2. Cut out the fence and use double-sided scrapbooking tape to attach it inside the house, matching the copper foil tape lines as indicated.
3. Cut open the window and fold the shutters out.
4. For the frosted glass, cut a square of opaque Scotch tape and attach it to the sticky side of a longer piece (like the pad of a bandaid). Then cover the window opening with the double-thickness of tape.
5. Finally, cut open the flap for the solar panel wires and fold it in.

To make the circuit, apply the copper tape over the lines shown on the template, going from inside the house out to the garden fence. Instead of a battery, the positive and negative sides of the circuit are connected to the positive and negative wires on the solar panel. There’s no off-on switch — it will only turn on when there’s enough light to power the LEDs. (Don’t leave it in direct sun, you can fry the electronics!)

If you are using the panel from a solar garden light, remove the stake by twisting it off the light compartment. Open the light compartment with a small screwdriver, remove the battery, and cut off the circuit board inside, leaving the two wires coming out of the solar panel.

If the panel doesn’t pop out easily from the plastic compartment, you can try pulling away any hot glue holding it in, but be careful — the wires are thin and easy to break. (I accidentally broke the red wire above off the solder — the metal “hot glue” used to connect components to a circuit — but was able to re-attach it with a conductive fabric tape patch.)

Alternately, you can use heavy scissors or wire cutters to cut away the plastic around the panel (safety goggles recommended). The last step is to strip a bit of the rubber insulation off the ends of the wires to expose the metal. A wire stripper is best, but in a pinch you can use dull scissors to cut through just the insulation and pull it off.

Note: Before you connect the solar panel to your circuit, look for a plus sign (+) indicating which wire is positive. In the photo above, it’s next to the red wire. If you can’t find it, test the wires by touching them to an LED to see which way it lights up. Then mark them so you don’t get mixed up!

Use double-sided tape to attach the solar panel to the outside of the roof, as shown on the template. Pull the wires through the flap to the inside. Then fold up the house, taping all the corresponding edges together using Scotch tape. I used conductive fabric tape patches to connect the solar panel wires to the copper tape, then applied the Circuit Sticker LEDs.

Once you’ve got your circuit completed, test it by shining a flashlight, the light from your phone, or a desk lamp on the solar panel. It will also work in a sunny spot indoors, or outside. (Again, be careful not to overheat your electronics by leaving it in strong light!)

You can add your own decorative touches to the house, or soften the light from the LEDs on the fence by covering them with tiny paper flowers or butterflies.

I’m planning to add more science by measuring the voltage produced by the solar panel using the Chibitronics Chibi Chip and the Chibi Scope. Follow me on social media to see what develops.

Have fun with this project!