Project 1: Hogwarts Strikes Back

Chandler Zastrow
Sep 13, 2016
2 min read

For this project, I created a simple interaction that involved using a switch to turn on a bundle of lights. I chose to take another go at the school for witchcraft and wizardry, creating a replica with hot glue, construction paper, and cardboard, and seated the circuit within. When a person presses the switch, the lights shine through a single window in the top of the castle. Is it Harry Potter's window? I'd like to think so. I soldered the switch so it would be accessible from the outside of the tiny school so anyone can turn on the wizard's bedroom light.

When this project started, I really didn't understand the gravity of making a detailed castle out of such rudimentary materials. What started as an easy task of slicing and gluing suddenly turned into a gooey mess, with extremely painful hot glue and cardboard that refused to stick. I used around 3 large moving boxes to fully construct the castle, having various supports along the sides and back, as the structure took much support to be considered sound. I started the project with the back half (the half that didn't contain the circuit and light) and worked my way forward. There were a series of spikes along the side of this part that I measured, traced, and cut. I then constructed the main cylinder by surrounding an empty milk jug with cardboard, recording where it made a full circle, and then hot gluing it. I had to add a few layers of these so to keep the main portion's integrity from compromising. As for the circuit housed underneath the roof in the main cylinder, it is a series circuit with three lights and simple black click switch.