Miniature Terrarium, Finished

Here is the completed miniature terrarium. I drilled out a hole in the base to insert the light and carefully soldered it in place. Then it was just a matter of attaching the battery and fixing it underneath. The light is a UV LED. It could have also been a white or red LED, but the UV adds to the terrarium feel.
In the end I decided not to attach the legs to the base. I felt it complicated the form and didn’t lend to the function of its lower profile. Legs would have created a taller feel than I was aiming for. Constructing a miniature terrarium only to make it look bigger would have been counterproductive and would have let a lot of people down, disappointing their expectations. Not to mention, I tried to solder them on and totally sucked at it. I don’t want to talk about it.
The moss I collected from outside and, with a little soil, should survive for quite a while. Though with my record of neglect towards house plants, that is doubtful.
With a terrarium this small it can be difficult to ensure the health and prosperity of anything planted in it. I had one a couple of years ago that I made in a small jar not much bigger than this one. I collected some moss and a small, fern-like thing from the woods just outside of Forks, Washington. It proved to survive for about two years. The jar was sealed and had some charcoal in with the soil to help keep things fresh. I had to open it a couple of times right after I planted it to allow moisture to evaporate that was causing too much condensation on the inside of the jar.
This is a little different than I had planned from the beginning, but I’ve learned some things from it and have plans for an improved design and different methods. It was fun. I’m done.

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