Below are two different designs for the Battery Brick. You can choose which one works best for you. The original three-binder-clip version is more reliable, but the two-binder-clip redesign uses less binder clips, which means more people can make Scrappy Circuits.

Original Three-Binder-Clip Version

Parts Needed:

• cardboard
• 3 small binder clips
• 3V coin battery from a LED tealight (can come from anywhere)

1. Clip a binder clip to each side of cardboard brick toward the top.
2. Flip one binder clip arm down.
3. Place the battery on top of the binder clip arm. It works better with the positive (+) side down.
4. Flip the other binder clip arm down on top of the battery.
5. Use a third binder clip to hold the top arm firmly to the battery and brick.
6. Label each binder clip as positive (+) or negative (–) based on which side of the battery the arm touches. This will make lighting the LED easier later.
7. Label with “Battery Brick” and the website URL: www.scrappycircuits.com.

Two-Binder-Clip Version

Parts Needed:

• cardboard
• 2 small binder clips
• 3V coin battery from a LED tealight (can come from anywhere)

Steps:

1. Clip a binder clip to a rectangle of cardboard.
2. Flip one binder clip arm down.
3. Cut the side opposite the binder clip arm slightly longer than the extended arm.
4. Place the battery on top of the binder clip arm with the positive (+) side down.
5. Clip a binder clip on the opposite side from the first binder clip. It should go over the cardboard and the battery.
6. Label with the website URL: www.scrappycircuits.com.

Click here for easily printable task cards.