HALLOWEEN PROJECTS
FunHouse Automation
96 makezine.com
G
H I
NeoPixels, and move the servo again.
Open up your code editor and create another
new file containing the inputsoutputstest.py code.
Save this file onto your CIRCUITPY drive as code.py
to run it, again making sure to back up any code
before saving over the previous file. Wave your
hands around in front of the PIR sensor and you
should see your NeoPixels light up and your
servo waving.
9. TRY OUT YOUR DISPLAY
The FunHouse board has a built-in display that
will come in handy for lots of home automation
projects. You can display sensor readings,
information from Adafruit IO, text, or even shapes
and bitmap images. For this make I kept it simple
(Figure
G
), displaying four lines of text reading
“Happy Halloween” and “Nos Calan Gaeaf,” which
is an equivalent tradition in my home country of
Wales. Again, copy the code displaytest.py and
save it as code.py to test it out.
10. PUT ALL THE CODE TOGETHER
When I’m writing code for a project with a few
different parts, I like to test smaller chunks of
code separately to help me troubleshoot things
at each stage. Now that you’ve made the internet,
display, and inputs/outputs work, you can
combine all the code to make your final code.py
file. Or grab my main code.py file at github.com/
helenleigh/funhouse.
11. BUILD YOUR HOUSE
With your electronics and code working, you can
move on to the construction of your Halloween
FunHouse. By layering black card and semi-
translucent paper you can make a cool and
creepy shadow puppet-style effect when the
LEDs light up. Using craft card, cut out a house
shape with a space for the FunHouse board, a
space for the servo, and a large window for the
shadows to show through. Then cut some shapes
to cast spooky shadows. I chose tentacles but
you should choose whatever you want: zombies,
ghouls, witches, spider webs or all of the above!
You'll also need to add wings on either side of
your house so you can fold them back to keep the
house upright (Figure
H
).
Layer translucent paper over your window
frame and secure it in place with tape. Next,
arrange your spooky silhouettes and tape them in
place too (Figure
I
). To check that you’re getting
the effect you want while you’re placing and
positioning your silhouettes, shine a flashlight
from the back to the front.
M78_092-97_HalloweenHelen_F1.indd 96M78_092-97_HalloweenHelen_F1.indd 96 7/13/21 10:06 AM7/13/21 10:06 AM
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