LED Noodle Nightlight

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A simple, low-cost nightlight that turns on when the room gets dark, using a bendable LED noodle instead of a NeoPixel strip.

Source book: Moving Rainbow
Kit page: https://dmccreary.github.io/moving-rainbow/kits/led-noodle-nightlight/
Printable one-pager: led-noodle-nightlight-one-pager.html

Features

• How a photoresistor senses darkness
• How a transistor works as an automatic switch
• How to tune a circuit with a resistor or potentiometer

Benefits

• Free, open lessons: the Moving Rainbow textbook has the kit page, wiring, and MicroPython code.
• Real-world data: students read sensors and turn measurements into decisions.
• Budget: about \(4–\)6 (estimate: similar parts to the Analog Nightlight; a 5 V LED noodle was not found on eBay, so that price is unconfirmed).

Parts

• Raspberry Pi Pico ($4) — Microcontroller
• 10K Potentiometer — Input knob
• LDR Photoresistor — Sensor
• WS2812B NeoPixels — LEDs
• 830-Point Breadboard ($1.10) — Breadboard
• Micro-USB Data Cable ($2.50) — Power and programming cable