Paper Circuitry  
Technology 

Light Up Your World! 

Using copper tape and surface-mount LEDs allows you to make a fully functional
circuit on a flat surface, like a piece of paper. You can make light-up greeting cards,
make origami animals come to life, or create three-dimensional pop-up paper
sculptures that have working lights in them.

The basic circuit is very simple, and yet allows for a wide range of explorations and
aesthetic expression. With a little more effort, you can add switches, which can be
as simple as a piece of aluminum foil, to add a dynamic element to your creation.

 
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Materials 
Copper Tape 

Coin Cell Battery  

Led lights 

Construction Paper 

Scotch Tape 

Paper Clip/Binder Clip 

Scissors 

Markers/Crayons 

Instructions 
Step 1: 
Cut two long strips of copper tape. Remove the paper backing from the tape, and
place them near the edge of a piece of paper, parallel to each other. The strips
should be about half an inch apart, and one strip should ​not​ go all the way to the
edge of the paper.

 
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Step 2:

Look closely at one of your LEDs. The LED has two legs, called leads (pronounced
"leeds"). One of them is slightly longer than the other.

Step 3:

Carefully bend the leads of the LED, and use Scotch tape to attach each lead to a
strip of the copper tape. The LED should be pointing upward. ​Important​: Make sure
to place your LED's leads as they are labeled in the figure. The longer lead should
be on the outer strip of copper tape (the one closer to the edge of the paper), and
the shorter lead should be on the inner strip.

 
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Step 4:

Place the coin cell battery on top of the inner piece of copper tape (the one farther
from the edge). The writing on the coin cell (the side with the "+" symbol) should be
facing up.

Step 5:

Fold over the corner of the piece of paper so the second strip of copper tape
contacts the top of the battery. This should cause your LED to light up.

1. If your LED does not light up, you probably have either the battery or the LED leads backwards.
Try flipping one of them around, then try again.
2. If your LED still does not light up, try pressing down harder on the battery, and press down on the
LED leads. The battery and LED leads must be in good contact with the copper tape to complete
a circuit and cause the LED to light up.

 
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Step 6:

Use a paper clip or a binder clip to hold the battery in place so the LED will stay lit.
Congratulations! You just made your first paper circuit. Now you can expand your
paper circuit into an art project. The following steps will show you how to make
modifications so you can come up with your own creative project. This is an
open-ended project, so you can decide what you want to do.

Step 7:

To add more LEDs, simply tape them down the same way you taped down your first
LED.

1. Make sure the LED's ​long​ leads are all touching the same piece of copper tape, and the ​short
leads are all touching the other piece of copper tape.
2. If an LED does not light up, try flipping around its leads. If it still does not light up, make sure it is
taped down securely so the leads are in firm contact with the copper tape.
3. You can mix and match red, green, and yellow LEDs, and they will all light up. However, the blue
LEDs will not light up if they are matched with red, green, or yellow LEDs. You can only use blue
LEDs with other blue LEDs (this has to do with something called ​voltage​; blue LEDs require more
voltage than the other colors).

 
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Step 8:

The copper tape, Scotch tape, and metal LED leads might interfere with your artwork
a bit. To make your artwork look less cluttered, you can poke holes in the paper so
the LEDs stick through to the other side, and all the other parts are hidden on the
back of the paper. Follow the sub-steps below to do this.

a. Use the LED leads (or another sharp point, like a pencil or pen) to poke two small holes
in the paper.

b. Poke the LED leads through from the opposite side of the paper.

c. Bend the LED leads down and tape them to the copper tape. ​Important​: Remember that
the LED's long lead should touch the outer piece of copper tape (the one closer to the
edge of the paper), and the short lead should touch the inner piece of tape.

 
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d. Now, when you look at the paper from the other side, only the LED is poking through,
with none of the other parts visible.

e. Use a paper clip to hold your battery in place, just like you did before. (If your LED does
not light up, try flipping the battery around.)

Step 9.

Now, what if you want to spread your LEDs out, all around a piece of paper? You
can do this by using longer pieces of copper tape. You can kink or bend the tape to
create curved shapes. Just make sure the two pieces of tape do not touch each
other (this will create a ​short circuit​ and prevent the LEDs from lighting up).

a. Lay out copper tape so you can place LEDs where you want them. Attach the LEDs using
the steps above. Remember that the longer lead of each LED should touch the outer
piece of tape, and the shorter leads should touch the inner piece of tape.

 
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b. Now, when you flip the paper over, you will have multiple LEDs poking through.

Step 10:

Can you combine everything you learned in the previous steps to make a paper
circuit art project of your own? For example, here is a picture with the LEDs in the
centers of flowers.