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Hanukkah STEM: Paper Circuit Menorah

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I have done a lot of Christmas activities but none for Hanukkah yet!  Today I want to share a little Hanukkah STEM activity. This paper circuit Menorah was so much fun to create and I am so happy my idea actually worked!

Paper Circuit Menorah

While I am not Jewish, I have a soft spot in my heart for the Jewish faith since I lived for a semester abroad in Jerusalem. It was a very special time in my life, truly life-changing.  I learned so much about the beauty of the different cultures and faiths that mingle there to make a most amazing place!  My own faith was deepened and strengthened while I toured the historic and religious sites and learned from local teachers.  I dream of going back and exploring more with my husband some day! I guess this is just a small tribute to that time. Plus, I love teaching my kids about all different religions and cultures.

 

How to Make a Paper Circuit Menorah

supplies for paper circuit menorah

To make the paper circuit menorah you will need the following materials:

My Menorah Template (DOWNLOAD HERE: Menorah Paper Circuit Template)
1 Lithium 3V Coin Cell Battery
9 – 3 or 5 mm LED Lights
1/4″ Copper Tape
Scotch Tape
1 Binder Clip

For paper circuits to work, there always has to be a positive side and a negative side.  You do not want them touching or crossing or the lights will not work. When you put on the copper tape make sure the positive and negative lines never cross.

Start with making the positive lines of tape. You will do this by following all of the lines of the Menorah with the tape. If the tape breaks, just add another small piece so there is no break in the lines. At the bottom of the candle stick go out to the edge of the paper where it will meet up with the battery and the negative side.

how to make a paper circuit menorah

To make the negative line, go up the right side of the paper and along the top of the candle flames.

Add the lights. The positive side of the LED lights is the one with the longer pins. Spread the two pins apart and place the short end touching the top line of copper tape and the long end touching the one under the flame. Tape with scotch tape to keep in place.

Attach the battery by placing the positive side down on the line extending from the base of the menorah and the negative side facing upwards. Bend the corner of the paper inwards and clip with the binder clip.

hanukkah STEM- paper circuit menorah

To light it as you would a menorah, light the center light first (called the shammash or servant), then the far right one on sunset of the first day of Hanukkah. Each night add one more light. There will not be enough power to keep them burning all day and night, so you will only be able to keep them lit for a short time. Or if you want to keep it burning, just replace the battery as needed.

You could also easily do this with the copper tape on the back and color in the menorah to make it more pretty. Then just poke a hole in the tops of the flames to make the lights shine through.

See more of my Circuit activities:

Gingerbread House Paper Circuits, Origami Firefly Paper Circuits, Firefly Soft Circuit, Conductive Test

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6 Comments

  1. Love this idea but it didn’t work out as planned. 3v lithium batteries didn’t seem to be enough to light up 8 diodes. (Maybe I bought an off brand but these products seem to be standard.) After two nights and about six different attempts (one, two, three different circuits and different menorah formations) I found that some lights would work and some would just flicker and some wouldn’t light up at all. Maybe it’s human error but for the life of me I couldn’t get it to work, so I knew it would be too frustrating to do with children. Would love to see this craft reworked or updated or clarified so that we could try it next year.

    1. You have to make sure that you have the polarity of the lightbulbs set up correctly. If they don’t light up, turn them 180 degrees and reattach. I figured this out through hours of trial and error! The battery has more than enough power to light the bulbs! Anything more powerful will burn the bulbs out. I know, because I tried a 9V battery, they lit up bright for a moment, and then went out, with a telltale burning smell!

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