Video tutorials -

• Electronics

In this self-paced, beginner-friendly online course, you and your child will learn how to create a rotating LED strip display—a glowing clock that seems to paint time in mid-air. And don’t worry if you’ve never soldered, wired a circuit, or touched an Arduino before. We guide you from the very first step all the way to powering on your finished display.

By the end of this journey, you’ll both have learned real hands-on skills—like how to solder, drill clean mounting holes, read resistor color codes, and work with common electronic components—all while building something that looks impressively “advanced” but is totally achievable for beginners.

Before you jump into the build videos, this first lesson gives you a clear picture of what you're creating—and what materials you’ll need to make it happen. We want you to have full confidence in what you’re investing in. There are no surprise expenses later: everything required is listed upfront, along with tips on where to buy each part.

Some LED strips have a sticky backing covered by a thin plastic layer. You can peel it off and stick the strip directly. If your strip is different from the one we suggested in the shopping section, you might need to get a little creative.

You’ll attach the lights to this stick, so choose its position carefully. Once the lights are attached, you can check where the center of weight is - that’s where you’ll mount the motor.

If everything is connected correctly, the Arduino microcontroller will light up, powered with 5V from the 9V battery!

If the battery holder already has such a cable attached to it, feel free to use it.

The position of the voltage regulator won’t affect the balance much, so it’s best to place it near the DIP switch.

If the battery holder already has a cable attached, you can use that one.

The position of the DIP switch doesn’t affect the balance much, so you can place it wherever you prefer.

Attaching the PCB to the clock face is best done with two sets of hands.