Since ancient times, beacons of light have guided mariners to ports and have warned them of hazardous coastlines. By the time they guided our 1864 clipper ship City of Adelaide on its voyages between England and South Australia, these beacons had evolved from bonfires on cliffs to oil and gas lamps on lighthouse towers.

Today, most of these guiding lights are powered by electricity - so join us at Dock 2 to build your own battery-powered mini-beacon to guide YOU to bed at night. You will:

cut, fold and glue coloured paper and aluminium foil to construct the tower, roof and reflector
hot-melt glue the transparent lamp room and roof assembly to the tower top
use screw-terminals to connect the battery box to a white light-emitting diode (LED)
surround your lighthouse with shells, seaweed and outbuildings to create your lightstation
switch ON your LED to 'light' your beacon - then test it in our darkened room.

We suggest 5 years of age and older - with adult assistance around the scissors, hot-melt glue and screw drivers as required.