CONNECT
The pencil lead is a mixture of clay and graphite, used for writing, drawing, and sketching. It is inserted into a wooden or plastic tube, forming the pencil we know. The pencil lead has different degrees of hardness, ranging from the softest (darker and smoother to the touch) to the hardest (lighter and more resistant). This variety allows artists to choose the right pencil for different techniques and effects in their drawings, providing flexibility and precision in their creations.
MAKEY MAKEY BOARD
The circuit board is part of a creative interaction kit.
This board allows ordinary objects to be transformed into “commands,” meaning they become touchpads*. These objects send information to the computer in the same way as input devices like the keyboard and mouse. With it, we can create various projects, even a banana piano or a video game controller made of modeling clay.
*Touchpad: a sensitive device that executes a command when touched.
For the circuit board to function, conductive materials are required. These are materials that conduct energy, such as metals (copper, gold, silver, and aluminum), seawater, and even our bodies. However, some materials do not conduct electricity, such as rubber, Styrofoam, glass, pure water, and oil, which cannot be used to make the circuit board work.
Ask the students:
• What would you like to build in our classes using the circuit board?
• What did you already know about conductive materials?
CONTEMPLATE
As we have seen, the board makes projects more fun by turning any energy-conducting object into a real keyboard.
Here are some of these objects:
• Fruits and vegetables: bananas, apples, lemons, or carrots can be used as keys or buttons.
• Aluminum foil sheets: small pieces of aluminum foil connected to the board’s pins can be touched or pressed to send signals.
• Pencil: can be used to draw circuits or directly connect objects to the board’s pins.
• Water: since it conducts electricity, containers with water can be used as part of the circuit. For example, by dipping fingers into glasses of water and touching conductive objects, signals are sent to the computer.
GETTING TO KNOW THE BOARD
The board is shaped like a video game controller. On the front side, there are contact points for the directional arrow functions (left, right, up, and down), the spacebar, and the mouse click.
It is important to know that there is a bottom bar called Earth, which serves as a grounding wire. This means it directs electrical current from devices into the ground.
On the back of the board, there are jumpers (connectors) that can be used as other keys (W, S, A, D, F, G) on a standard keyboard, as well as connections to control all mouse functions (right/left click).
HOW TO CONNECT THE BOARD
Connect the USB cable to the computer and attach the alligator clips to the contact points on the board and the conductive objects that will be used in the project.
The circuit with objects requires grounding. For this project, grounding will be done by the student interacting with the circuit. They should hold the alligator clip connected to the Earth bar with one hand while pressing the object. Observe what happens!
BUILD
Organize the class into teams of up to five students and distribute the circuit board kit to each group.
Propose to the students the creation of drawings made with graphite and the use of the circuit board, which, when connected to Scratch, will play music. Guide them to follow all the steps in the correct order:
Step 1: Gather the materials.
• 1 circuit board;
• 6 alligator clips;
• 1 USB cable;
• Sheets of paper;
• 1 pencil with high-pigmentation graphite.
Step 2: Draw five shapes on the sheet of paper using the pencil. Each drawing will represent a sound. They must be fully shaded with no gaps, and all must touch the edge of the paper where the alligator clip will be attached. This is essential for the project to work.
Step 3: Take five alligator clips and connect them to the drawings. They must be properly positioned on the graphite to conduct electricity. Reserve one alligator clip for grounding.
Step 4: Connect the alligator clips to the corresponding inputs on the circuit board.
Step 5: Use the USB cable to connect the circuit board to the computer.
Step 6: Run the Scratch program by visiting <https://scratch.mit.edu>. The programming in Scratch will play the chosen sound for each drawing.
Step 7: Add the circuit board extension as shown in the image:
Step 8: Program the music using graphite.
a. Click on Makey Makey and drag the when space key pressed block into the script area. The “space” option should be changed according to the connections of the alligator clips on the circuit board.
b. In the Sounds tab, select the sound “Drum.” Then, click on Sound, drag the play Drum sound block into the script area, and place it below the previous block.
c. Create four more command blocks and repeat the steps from sections a and b. In section b, when repeating the command, choose a different sound. Tip: You can duplicate commands by right-clicking and selecting “Duplicate.”
Step 9: To play the sound, hold the alligator clip connected to the grounding point with one hand and touch the drawings with the other.
CONTINUE
At the end, ask the students:
• Why did the drawings need to be fully shaded with graphite, without gaps?
• Did all the projects work?