Homework - who's it for?

Our youngest daughter came home with a homework project to build an innovative Olympic torch. She build various things and she and Mum painted stuff, thought about the result and then up pipes the little lovely with, "What can we do to make the flames look like flames?"

The answer was obvious (well it was to me) in that what we needed was an astable circuit (AKA multivibrator) which drove two LEDs (one red, one yellow) in a fast flashing sequence. This would give the flickering effect (something to remember if you need a lantern for little children to hold in the Nativity service and plays). So we got the components and our youngest was taught the rudiments of soldering (apply heat, then solder and remove - NO, don't blow on it!). I tried to explain the two amplifiers in a positive-feedback loop and failed miserably - it was a flasher circuit!

Then we needed to work pout how to get the moving flames effect and she remembered the local Indian Restaurant which has bits of silk blown by a fan to look like flames. So off to that great ecclesiastical outfitters, Maplins, for a cooling fan. We got back and experimented with various bits of material and ended up with strips of crepe paper (red, yellow and orange) which we attached to the centre of the fan.

The LEDs were now attached to the fan and Araldited (another ecclesiastical necessity) and the battery and the fan were put into an enclosure (she taped it and made the unit!). This assembly was placed into a gold covered cover, which she rolled, taped and glued and the Olympic rings were added for good measure.

In all this was one of the most enjoyable 'whole family' plus others (Thank You Leah) projects - felt like a good dad and got to do some more soldering (and gave me the chance to repair a radio microphone transmitter for a local church at the same time).

Isn't being a parent great?

Happy Tuesday