I like to say that a circuit is sort of like a circle. When it is complete it works (on); when there’s a break in the circuit it acts like a switch and the circuit stops functioning (off). We’re going to connect all our components and the paper clip or binder clip will hold our batter in place. When we want to turn it off, we’ll remove the clip or move it off to the side. Stay with me. I’ll explain.
- Attach the motor somewhere near the base of your origami creature. The motor vibrates, which is what makes the origami move. The closer the motor is to the base, the the origami vibrates (wiggles) against the table. This vibration becomes movement. You will play around with the motor’s placement after completing the circuit. If it’s really off balance your creature might spin in circles, which can be super fun.
- Use copper tape to firmly attach the tip of the black wire from the motor to where you will clip the battery in place. For Totoro, inside near the top worked really well (see video above).
- Use the copper tape to attach the red wire directly to the positive (+) side of the battery.
- Now place the negative (-) side of the battery on top of the black wire/copper tape you created in step 1 and clip in place with your paper clip or binder clip and watch it go!
Troubleshooting: making circuits with copper tape can be tricky. Use a couple layers of copper tape, one directly on the paper, then one or two right over the exposed metal core of your wire and onto the first layer of copper tape. Press firmly.
A note on polarity: We can see that our batteries have two different sides. Generally, we want to make sure we don’t cross our wires (red doesn’t touch black). Red is conventionally used for positive leads in a circuit and black is used for negative leads. But these little motors will actually work even if they are wired the opposite way. That makes this a safe project to begin learning about circuits.