Source: https://mokxi.com/teachers/plans/halloween-prop Updated: 2026-11-11 Lesson plan # Build a Halloween prop lesson plan Five porch props on the Uno, from a fog trigger to a talking skull, each one a complete build with the safety notes that go with it. 3 chapters, 5 lessons, about 5 hours, on the Arduino Uno R3. Every lesson runs in the browser, with nothing to install. Start a class from this course The unit ## Objectives and materials ### By the end, students can - Spot someone on the path and switch something big, safely and only once. - Open a lid and work a jaw on time with a sound from a DFPlayer. - Run lightning and candlelight on WS2812B strips at the same time. ### Materials for the whole unit - Addressable RGB LEDs x 2 - Arduino Uno R3 - DFPlayer Mini MP3 module - Full-size breadboard - Half breadboard - Hobby servo - LED x 3 - Microwave motion sensor - Motion sensor - Piezo speaker - Potentiometer - Relay module - Resistor x 3 - Speaker, 8 ohm - Ultrasonic ranger Every part is already on the simulator’s bench, so there is nothing to buy or hand out. The counts are the most any one lesson uses, if you build it on real breadboards too. Chapter 1. About 2 h 5 min ## Sense the visitor Spot someone on the path and switch something big, safely and only once. Lesson | Time | What students do Prop 1: a fog machine trigger A PIR sees someone on the path and a relay presses the fog machine’s remote for a short burst, then a cooldown lets the fog drift. The safe way to let an Arduino switch something big. | 70 min - The safe way to switch a fog machine - Run it: ready and waiting - Walk up the path - The cooldown - Make it yours Prop 2: a candy bowl that grabs back An HC-SR04 watches across the top of the bowl. A hand reaches in, a piezo cackles and a servo swings a rubber hand down. Distance, a debounce for sensors, and a servo show. | 55 min - Run it - Reach in - The cackle - One reach, one grab ### Materials - Arduino Uno R3 - Half breadboard - Hobby servo - LED x 3 - Motion sensor - Piezo speaker - Relay module - Resistor x 3 - Ultrasonic ranger ### Check for understanding Each student finishes "Prop 2: a candy bowl that grabs back" on their own, without opening the hints. The simulator checks 4 of its 4 steps as they go. Then ask each one to explain, in a sentence or two, the last thing it asked of them: "One reach, one grab". Chapter 2. About 2 h 5 min ## Move and speak Open a lid and work a jaw on time with a sound from a DFPlayer. Lesson | Time | What students do Prop 3: a jump-scare box A radar hidden inside a box sees someone walk up. A servo throws the lid open, a DFPlayer screams and two red eyes flicker, then it shuts and waits for the porch to clear. | 55 min - Three parts, one moment - Run it: armed - Walk up to it - Shut, rest, and wait for the porch to clear Prop 4: a talking skull A servo jaw that moves in time with a spoken line. Two honest ways to sync a jaw to a voice, and the cue list this one uses, with BUSY to know when the line is really over. | 70 min - Two ways to make a jaw talk - Run it: hello - Watch the jaw - Done means done - Write your own line ### Materials - Arduino Uno R3 - DFPlayer Mini MP3 module - Full-size breadboard - Hobby servo - LED x 2 - Microwave motion sensor - Motion sensor - Resistor x 3 - Speaker, 8 ohm ### Check for understanding Each student finishes "Prop 4: a talking skull" on their own, without opening the hints. The simulator checks 5 of its 5 steps as they go. Then ask each one to explain, in a sentence or two, the last thing it asked of them: "Write your own line". Chapter 3. About 55 min ## Light the scene Run lightning and candlelight on WS2812B strips at the same time. Lesson | Time | What students do Prop 5: a haunted window A WS2812B strip throws lightning across a window while four LEDs on the sill flicker like candles, and a knob sets the storm. Two animations at once, with no delay() anywhere. | 55 min - Run it: a storm rolls in - Why lightning flashes more than once - Two animations, one loop - Wiring a real window ### Materials - Addressable RGB LEDs x 2 - Arduino Uno R3 - Half breadboard - Potentiometer - Resistor x 2 ### Check for understanding Each student finishes "Prop 5: a haunted window" on their own, without opening the hints. The simulator checks 4 of its 4 steps as they go. Then ask each one to explain, in a sentence or two, the last thing it asked of them: "Wiring a real window". Your class ## Teach this unit as a class Start a class from this course and its 5 lessons are assigned in one go, in order. Students join with a six-character code or printed login cards, and each one’s work comes back to you. The class tools are free for 30 days for one class of up to 20 students, with no card. The lessons themselves are free either way. Start a class from this course See the demo class More units ## Other lesson plans Electronics basics 20 lessons, about 10 h. Embedded on the Arduino Uno 16 lessons, about 12 h. Embedded on the ESP32-C3 13 lessons, about 11 h. Embedded on the Raspberry Pi Pico 7 lessons, about 6 h. Build your own fight stick 5 lessons, about 4 h. Embedded on the STM32F411 6 lessons, about 6 h. C++ on a board 13 lessons, about 10 h. Digital logic and memory 4 lessons, about 4 h. Interactive devices on the Uno 9 lessons, about 8 h. From gates to a computer 23 lessons, about 16 h. Build a claw machine 8 lessons, about 6 h. Every unit All the courses as ready-made units, on the teachers page.