| Electronic Quiz Game |
From "DIY Kids"
episode DIK-105 |
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It's fun to play your very own quiz game that you made yourself. Kent Lindsey, host of DIY Kids, and the DIY Kids take you through each step for making a game about the U.S. state capitals and explain how to use your game board to create different games. The game consists of a map with the locations of five state capitals marked by machine screws, an answer key that gives the names of the state capitals, a light and two long wires. To play, you touch a screw marking the location of a capital with one of the wires. Touch the second wire to a screw on the answer key, which lists the five capitals used in the game. When the second wire touches the right answer, the light glows. Materials:
U.S. map
15" x 9" shirt box (top and bottom)
Scissors
Glue
1 dozen 3/4"-long #6 machine screws (nuts should be included in the package)
Hook-up wire
Pencil
Pushpin or nail
Small Phillips-head or slot screwdriver
Paper for answer key
Wire strippers
Miniature lamp holder (for E-10 screw-base lamp) with screw terminals
7.5-volt screw-base lamp (what we think of as a bulb)
9-volt battery snap connectors
9-volt battery
Electrical tape
Duct tape
- Decorate a blank U.S. map however you like. You can download a map, trace your own, or buy a blank map where teachers' supplies are sold. If the map is bigger than your shirt box, place the box over the map, and trace the outline with a pencil. Cut out the map along the pencil lines. Glue the map to the bottom of the box (figure A).
- Choose five states and their capital cities, and mark them on the map. Using a pushpin or a nail, make a small starter hole at the location of each capital. Insert a pencil, and gently make the hole larger. The screw should just fit through the hole. Turn the box over, and twist on the nuts, but don't tighten them all the way (figure B).
- Write the name of each city next to the appropriate screw on the back of the game board. When you've inserted a screw for each capital, make an answer key as described in the next step.
- To make the answer key, list the five state capitals you've selected on a small piece of paper. Leave enough space between the names so you have room to put in a screw by each one (figure C). Glue the answer key onto the lower-left corner of your game board so it doesn't cover the map.
- When you've inserted a screw for each name on the answer key, you'll see that they form a line of screws on the bottom of the box. Write the name of each capital on the back of the box next to its screw (figure D).
- Begin with the first capital -- for example, Austin, the capital of Texas. Measure from this screw to the machine screw labeled "Austin" in the middle of the board (figure E). Add about 2" to that length, and cut a piece of wire with a pair of wire strippers. Get a parent's permission first, or ask an adult to do this step for you.
- Remove about 1" of plastic insulation from each end of the wire with the wire strippers. Form a small hook in each end of the exposed wire, and hook one end around the map screw just under the nut (figure F). Tighten the nut over the wire. Hook the other end over the screw for the matching city on the answer-key row. Tighten the nut over the wire. Repeat for the remaining cities.
- Cut two additional pieces of wire long enough to reach across your game board. Continue wiring the game, working with the lamp holder and the battery in the snap connector. Connect the snap connector's red wire to one of the screws on the lamp holder. Attach the black wire on the snap connector to the first long wire by twisting their ends together and wrapping them with electrical tape. Connect the second long wire to the remaining screw on the lamp holder (figure G).
- Place the miniature lamp holder on the board, and use a pencil to mark the spots where the lamp holder should be mounted (figure H). Remove the holder, and make holes for the machine screws with a pushpin. Use a pencil to make the holes larger, so the machine screws will fit. Make a third hole between the mounting holes. This is for the wires from the battery's snap connector.
- Carefully strip some of the plastic off the snap connector wires. This is a good job for an adult. Thread the wires through the box, from the bottom to the top.
- Attach the red wire on the snap connector to one of the screws on the lamp holder (figure I).
- Cut two pieces of wire long enough to reach from the light to the other side of the board. Connect one to the black snap-connector wire. Connect the other to the remaining screw terminal in the lamp holder (figure J). Wrap these connections with electrical tape.
- Attach the battery to the connector, and tape them to the inside of the box. To test, screw a bulb in and touch both ends of the wire together. If the bulb lights, your game is working (figure K). If the bulb doesn't light up, check to make sure all the connections are tight. Attach the lamp holder to the game board with the last two machine screws.
Game Variations To make a new game, start with a sheet of flexible foam. Slide it over the game, and mark where your light is going to be. Cut around the light bulb so the sheet fits right on top. Feel through the foam with your fingers, and make a mark where all the screws are on your board. Then cut these out with the tip of a pair of scissors. Pick a subject you like, such as dog breeds, and use stickers or draw pictures next to the screws on the board. Take one of the long wires, and touch the screw next to one of your pictures. Use the second wire to touch each of the screws on the answer key, one at a time, to see which one makes the bulb light up. Write the answer next to that screw on the answer key. Do this for each of your pictures (figure L).
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