I'd had this idea for quite some time, and had purchased two levitating kits. However after testing I found these not strong enough to support the weight of what I wanted to float. I also wanted this to be buildable with off the shelf parts, so I created my own levitator based on a standard Arduino Nano. 

Once I had a stable levitation system I set about designing the scene which included common elements from the game including the trapdoor and exit.  Both lit up, and the exit included a flame effect again controlled by the Arduino.

The code was designed so that the system shut down and turned all the lights off when no lemming was present. Once you placed the lemming in place, the code would play the "Lets Go" sound effect and the proceed to play all the music from the original game until you removed the lemming.  If the lemming fell down, you got the popular splat sound, and if you got him stuck to the electromagnet it played the scream sound usually played when a lemming went out of play.

There's a few safety features too. Firstly, the code won't power the electromagnet if the lemming isn't present or is in contact with the electromagnet. If you power the electromagnet for a long time at full power it could get very hot. In normal operation it should run cold, but if there was any issues I didn't want this to overheat and melt. So I added a little thermostat switch inline with the electromagnet that would automatically cut the power if it reached 80 degrees.

🔵 Useful Links 

👉 PCB: https://www.pcbway.com/project/shareproject/Floating_Lemming_ca36be34.html 

👉 3D Files: https://makerworld.com/en/models/2370091-floating-lemming 

👉 Source Code, 3D Print Files, PCB and Build Info: https://robsmithdev.co.uk/youtube/lem.zip

The full build can be seen in this video:

If you just want to see it working, then check out this video: