Day 28

Makey Makey Voting Machine/Holiday Door By Colleen Graves

Colleen here from Makey Makey. I'm blessed with making stuff and sharing it for a living! A couple of months ago, I was challenged on Twitter to make an exit ticket for students using Makey Makey and Scratch. It's actually a great way to learn to make a momentary switch!

A switch is a component that requires a physical action to close a circuit. Just like the keys on your keyboard! A Switch can be momentary or maintained.

For this project, you will make multiple momentary switches. In this type of switch, the circuit is only closed when actuated. Otherwise, the circuit is open until you push the switch to activate it. (Which will make it a great way to make an interactive holiday door! Just sayin'!)

The full guide for making the exit ticket switches and code in Scratch is here at labz.makeymakey.com.

After making this, I realized this is the most practical thing I've ever made! Not only is it a great way to see how kids feel about a daily lesson, it's a great way to learn to make a switch!

One of my favorite things about this guide is that I've seen tons of teachers recreate it all over the globe. From here in Texas, to Hawaii, to France!

So for your 28th day of making, you can make these simple momentary switches from this Labz guide to decorate your door for any holiday or you can make these switches to create a voting machine!

Bonus points: With a little coding, this decor can COUNT! Which means, you can decorate and vote on anything you and your students desire. Maybe you can make some heart shaped switches for Valentines? Or use it as a way to find out more about your students like this invention from these pre-service teachers.

Check out my guide tomorrow for another fun and quick Makey Makey hack!