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There’s nothing quite like watching live fireworks above your head—the babies crying, the dogs barking and of course requisite traffic jam that occurs after most local Fourth of July shows.
Some of you might be thinking about staying in for the holiday. Your home theater setup can be hard to leave, and it’s just as festive as any outdoor celebration. In fact, between live HD TV broadcasts and web cams around the country, your home tech is a window into more fireworks shows than you can imagine. If you’re more of a doer than an observer, the holiday can be perfect for a DIY Independence Day-themed LED project.
Shakespeare’s quote “The whole world is a stage” is so much more true these days—thanks to all the web cams planted in cities across the country. Those web cams definitely earn their keep on the Fourth of July, because anyone with an Internet connection is able to see the best fireworks shows in numerous cities and multiple time zones.
From Fort Lauderdale, to Boston, to the South Lawn of the White House, you can watch fireworks from the comfort of home. Extra points if you’re able to catch a major fireworks fail, like what happened last year in San Diego:
Whether you’ve got the fireworks going on your connected TV or on a computer screen, you can rely on broadcast TV to enhance your holiday-at-home experience with some festive programming.
On PBS, enjoy performances in celebration of the holiday, including Barry Manilow and others. Of course, NBC will show Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular in New York City. If you’re in the mood for drama, check out 1996 film Independence Day showing on both Telemundo and A&E, or National Treasure (2004) on ABC Family.
Finally, you might want to take the celebration to the garage or backyard in addition to the living room. Fireworks are both an art and a technology, and it’s time to try your hand at making some of your own —but not the real kind. Besides, who needs flammables when you’ve got LED?
This excellent tutorial from Instructables explains how to make your own LED fireworks at home. You’ll need a few supplies you probably don’t have on hand, so plan a trip to the hardware store and a few hours to get your tech operational.
If you’d still prefer to lounge on the couch this holiday, perhaps invest $20 in this handy fireworks projector instead. It likely won’t blow away anyone who’s especially tech savvy, but if you’ve got young kids it might be just the trick you need to finish your day.
