Haunted Neighborhood with Fuzzy 3D Paper Circuits

This month, we had a great time in our workshop with over 20 participants trying out fuzzy paper circuits in a haunted neighborhood.

Though some participants were new to paper circuits, together we spent time imagining what would be in a haunted neighborhood and crafting together. In the share outs, people showed of incredible creative ideas, making eyes and noses glow, spooky trees and houses, and even bats and anglerfish!

People share resources (there’s a fun anglerfish on CreativeBug!), and questions about what else might work to be a conductive material besides copper tape and chenille stems / pipe cleaners.

There were also sustainability considerations—this is a great activity to use those short pieces of chenille stems from other library programs, and what could we do with the soft fuzz we cut off or pull off the chenille stem ends (to support more contact in the circuit?)

@Miria did a quick test with floral wire that she had on hand, and reported that it doesn’t work.

Here’s an edited screenshot of some of our creations

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It was so great to meet all of you and gain from the collective’s wisdom. I can’t wait for next month! Thanks for hosting, @ada! :heart_hands:

ETA: Here’s the link to the Creativebug tutorial: Disco Anglerfish Check if your library has access to Creativebug!

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Thanks for sharing the link Stephanie @spiccino !

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I had a lot of fun with this and see how it could be extended as part of a STEAM series I’m trying to put together for next summer. It took a little tinkering after the workshop but I finally got both lights going.

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This was fun, I made a one eyed monster. I really like the pipe cleaners instead of the tape! When I did the tape in the past kiddos seemed to struggle with the tape. I am excited to try with the kids.
I liked that we had a chance to talk with others during the breakout room.

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I’ve kept playing all day and ended up with a new friend!

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I had trouble getting both eyes to light up. I used some of the fuzz from the pipe cleaners to make eyebrows!


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That’s such a great idea to use the extra fuzz as a craft material! Thanks Katy @kgryboski !!

Love seeing everyone’s creations up close! I shared my fish in another thread before this one was made: Fuzzy Circuits with Chenille Stems! - #4 by TheArtistLibrarian

I wasn’t able to attend this meeting due to a scheduling conflict, but I wanted to share my demo of the paper circuit before our meeting later. It was super fun!!


Thanks for sharing both sides of the creation, Peter! I love how you use the binder clip as a mini stand for the paper. And having the lighthouse and ship both light up brings up a nice relationship between them.

(Bonus: it made me think of our Ambassador Molly, whose city and library are called Lighthouse Point!)