This exciting project is simple to customize and offers the perfect balance of skill-building to help teens boost their confidence. It gives them hands-on experience with electricity while creating a cool sign to personalize their space.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Library programming is designed to be fully inclusive. Age limits may be implemented in certain programs to ensure that program content fosters appropriate developmental markers.

Accessibility: Provide stencils or traceable words/letters.

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Staff Energy: High

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Ages: 12+

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Cost: $6/person

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Length: 60 min.

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Ideal Attendance: 10

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STEAM Practices:

✓ Science (electricity)

✓ Art (design)

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Tags: teen, STEAM, LED, electricity

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Credit: Teen Services Depot (idea); photos (Kate Davis)

Supplies:

(Commonly on-hand supplies are not included in cost breakdown.)

EL Wire (electroluminescent wire with battery pack) ($20/7 pk)
AA Batteries (2 per person)
12” square of Foam Cork Board (this one is 24×36”) ($14.99)
Multiple staplers that can open flat; staples
Masking tape or painter’s tape
Duct tape
Pencil
Ribbon, Washi tape, decorative push pins, etc (optional)

Total cost: $6.10/person

Instructions:

Have teens decide the word they want to spell. It should be short enough to fit on the board with large letters.
Have teens LIGHTLY write the word on the cork in cursive. (If they don’t know cursive, have them connect the letters somehow since the wire needs to be continuous.)

3. Starting from the beginning of the word, trace pencil marking with wire, taping down every few inches.

Cork board with red wires taped in loops and a black electronic component.

4. Staple the wire with the tacks being careful not to staple the wire, but just use the staples to hold the wire in place.

5. When at the end of the word, bend the wire around to the back side side of the cork board and secure well with duct tape.

battery pack and orange wire taped to a white board

6. Personalize with the decorative supplies.

Staff Know-How

Planning, Set Up & Facilitation

Cut the foam cork board into 12” squares.
Make a sample so you can guide teens through the process.
Test each battery pack to make sure each pack and LED light strand work properly.

Pro-Tips

Buy the batteries at the dollar store.
Make sure teens leave the battery pack accessible so that they can turn it on/off.
You may have to help teens with cursive, but because the wire needs to be in one piece, cursive is necessary.
Teens may want to write an inappropriate word. Prepare your response in advance. (Speaking from experience on this one! –Kate)
You can also buy pre-cut Cork Board Tiles 12”X 12” – 1/2” Thick. These will be significantly more expensive than cutting foam cork boards yourself. (FYI… the foam itself doesn’t serve any purpose in this project. It is just an inexpensive backing to thin corkboard, making the project less costly.
When stapling, put a buffer down on the table so your furniture doesn’t get damaged.