Spark JOY: STEAM Labs

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participants integrate real electrical engineering concepts into original artwork using copper tape, sticker LEDs, and paper-based circuit components.Learners explore how energy flows through a system by building, testing, troubleshooting, and redesigning functional circuits embedded in visual art. This lab demystifies electronics by making electricity visible, tactile, and expressive.

Participants begin by constructing a simple closed-loop circuit using:

• Copper tape (conductive pathway)
• Sticker LEDs
• Coin cell battery

Key concepts explored:

• Polarity (+ / –)
• Conductivity
• Open vs. closed circuits
• Cause and effect

If it lights up, the system works. If not — investigate.

Participants then upgrade their circuits using three different switch designs, learning how control changes system behavior.
Examples include:

• Pressure switch (push to light)
• Fold switch (open/close via paper hinge)
• Slide or pull-tab switch (mechanical control)  

Learners compare:

• Reliability
• Ease of use
• Design trade-offs

This mirrors real-world engineering decision-making.

Participants choose how their artwork lights up by designing illumination patterns such as:

• Single-point highlight
• Symmetrical lighting
• Sequential or directional emphasis

Art becomes a functional interface, not just decoration. The circuit serves the story.

Participants embed circuits into:

• Drawings
• Story scenes
• Symbols
• Abstract designs  

They consider:

• Visual balance
• Meaning
• Where light draws attention

This reinforces that technology is a creative tool, not a separate subject.

When circuits fail, learners:

• Trace current paths
• Check polarity
• Reinforce connections
• Redesign layouts  

This normalizes:

• Productive failure
• Debugging
• Patience and precision  

• Energy transfer
• Electrical flow
• Cause and effect
• Systems behavior  

• Basic electronics
• Circuit logic
• Functional design  

• Prototyping
• Iteration
• Constraints & optimization
• Troubleshooting  

• Visual storytelling
• Design thinking
• Expressive technology
• Aesthetic decision-making

Participants leave with:

• A functional light-up art piece
• A working understanding of circuits
• Confidence with real components  

• Multi-LED branching circuits
• Compare series vs. parallel layouts
• Story-based illumination challenges
• Collaborative murals