In this tutorial, we'll make a pop-up house. The project uses an Adafruit CRICKIT for Circuit Playground Express programmed in MakeCode to make the house fold flat when you blow on it, seeming to disappear before popping right back up!

Household materials you will need

  • Scotch tape
  • Double sided tape
  • Piece of cardboard (8.5" x 11")
  • 2 sheets printer paper
  • Bamboo skewer (or wooden dowel or popsicle stick)
  • Scissors

Electronics

1 x Circuit Playground Express
Circuit Playground Express is the perfect introduction to electronics and programming
1 x Adafruit CRICKIT for Circuit Playground Express
Creative Robotics and Interactive Construction Kit is an add-on to our popular Circuit Playground Express that lets you #MakeRobotFriend using CircuitPython
1 x Micro Servo
This little servo can rotate approximately 180 degrees (90 in each direction). Works just like standard servos you're used to but smaller.
1 x USB cable - A/MicroB - 3ft
Standard A to micro-B USB cable
1 x 5V 2A (2000mA) switching power supply
Power supply that gives a clean regulated 5V output at up to 2000mA, 110 or 240 volt AC input

Background

This project takes its inspiration from the book The Elements of Pop Up by David A. Carter and James Diaz.

PDFs of their templates are also available online for reference.

We will use two pop-up concepts in the project: the Angle Fold Open Box and the Angle Fold Pyramid (figures 24 and 27 in the book, respectively). 

This guide was first published on Jun 07, 2018. It was last updated on Mar 08, 2024.

This page (Overview) was last updated on Mar 08, 2024.

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