Makey Makey - Projects - How To

Begin by deciding your lesson or theme. I have created examples of: The Lifecycle of the Butterfly, The Five Senses, The Continents, Music Genres, and Parts of a Plant.

Next make a template. Most of mine were created in our paint program, Pixie. This paper template should be secured with a backing. I used construction paper, and then laminated it.

Decide what your points of focus will be. For the five senses, I have 6: the 5 senses, and the title. These 6 points will each be identified with a word(s) and a brass fastener. The images below and at the end of the page will show this clearly.

Now for the programming in Scratch - Each word(s) will become what is called a sprite, and each sprite is coded separately.

You will need to code the Event (brown) and the Sound (pink) for each sprite that you've created.

The Event script will be "when ____ key is pressed" - you fill in the correct key (up, down, etc.)

The Sound script will be "play sound ____ until done". For this one, you want your student to record the information. Go to the Sounds tab to find the microphone.

After you have recorded, your new sound that you saved as "seeing or hearing or whatever" will show up when you click on the black arrow or carrot in the script "play sound __^__ until done".

For this project, I have animated the Title and the blinking eyes, the other 5 sprites are coded only to record the student's voice. This is the easiest way for beginners.

Each point will correspond to a keyboard key (up arrow, down arrow, etc.) Now the brass fastener is inserted at those points of focus. The button will show on the top of the template. The bottom prongs of the fastener will be clipped to an alligator clip line. The other end of the alligator clip line will be attached to the correct Makey Makey port to correspond to your coding (ex. up arrow to up arrow).

Finally, insert the Makey Makey red usb line into your computer. Be sure to set up the ground line - one to Earth on the Makey Makey and the other end to hold or to touch the brass button. (Or make a long chain of hands for fun). This is where we have created our circuit, our circular journey.

Because the alligator clips become a mess of spaghetti, I use a cardboard box to hold the Makey Makey. Pop out a hole in the side of the box for the red usb line to go through so that it is nice and tidy and safe.