We love Blinkies. Especially simple led throwies.
Lately, we've been playing with "candle flicker" LEDs, which contain a tiny chip that makes their warm light flicker like a flame.
Tape 'em to a battery and watch glow. They're great. But we wanted a version we could, essentially, blow out.
Enter the tilt switch.
This little component is a small cylinder, about the size of a bean, with a metal ball inside. When the cylinder is vertical, the ball rests on two metal leads at the bottom, completing a circuit. Tip it, and the ball rolls away, breaking the circuit.
So we combined tilt switches, flicker LEDs, coin batteries and some plastic battery holders to make 15 little candles.