We can’t bring our creations to life without lightning so we’re going to build a lightning detector as part of our wall display to alert us when a storm is approaching! Together, we’ll assemble and wire the lightning detector module to the Arduino UNO and see the results on an LCD screen.

No monster laboratory is complete without a Jacob’s ladder. I’ve been fascinated by them since I first saw the electric arcs rising in the old black and white Frankenstein movie. We’ll be building our own as the centerpiece of our wall display.

Mad scientists love their mysterious and colorful liquids so we’ll build two that will go right next to the Jacob’s Ladder. Help me pick the colors!

To power all the elements, we need an oversized electrical box panel that will feature animated indicator lights, gauges and house our lightning detector. I also want to make it look like it’s been part of one too many experiments by adding faux corrosion and burn marks.