The Party Cup

The Party cup is something that was inspired by those cup you can wind up getting at the fair or amusement parks, the ones with the lights in them. The cups glow and that was ultimately my reason to try and make my own at home. That reason and class mainly were why I decided to do such. The lights work when you flip the switch on the side of the cup. The light then illuminates whatever liquid is in the cup at the time. The battery is attached to the other side of the cup via electrical tape. The cup as whole is held together with electrical tape via the base and for the attached parts on the sides of the cup. These parts go as follows:

The cup:

Its a cup. This is what we are going to be lighting up.

The base:

Houses the Arduino and the primary light source.

The Arduino (Playground Express):

The light source and what allows for the light switch to work.

The Ion Lithium battery, plus alligator clips:

Power supply for the Arduino. The clips connect the Arduino to the switch.

The switch:

What turns on the lights.

These components combined together make up the Party cup. The battery gives the Arduino power, which is the light source that supplies the cup with that nice glow. Other component that helps facilitate the cup's glow is the base. The base is blacked-out with electrical tape all around the circumference of the shape. The electrical tape allows for the light to push up versus to the side, which in turn, creates better lighting for the liquid in the cup. The demonstration is below.