Makey Makey Overview
The premise is simple: Turn a conductive object into a (keyboard) key. As stated on their website: Make + Key = Makey Makey. Any conductive object, like a banana or play dough or water, can be turned into a keyboard key.
Requirements
A computer with a USB 2.0 port, conductive items of your choice.
Each Makey Makey box contains:
- Seven alligator clips
- A USB cable
- A Makey Makey board
- Six wires
- You may also find some stickers, but these are likely to be used before long…
All of the components fit snugly into a small red box. Each kit contains two complete Makey Makey boxes.
The Makey Makey site includes a nice set of instructions on getting started or keep reading.
How to start:
- Use a computer with a USB 2.0 port.
- Locate the red USB cable and plug it into the computer.
- Plug the USB cable into the Makey Makey board.
- Locate two alligator clips. (Pull back the plastic a little to show the clips.)
- Connect one clip to the “Earth” holes.
- Connect one clip to the “Space” holes. Note how the jaws of the alligator clips fit into the two small holes of each area.
- Visit the piano site: http://makeymakey.com/bongos/
- Here is the most important part: You MUST make a complete connection to make the system work.
- Hold the metal ends of the alligator clips connected to “Earth” by the fingers of one hand and then tap your finger against the metal of the alligator clip connected to “Space.”
- You should hear the sound of a bongo drum!
- Now connect another alligator clip to the “Back” holes. Now you have two alligator clips that work to product two different sounds for the bongo drums.
Now that you have verified that it is working. Get a conductive object and clip the “Space” and “Back” alligator clips to them. This can be a banana or a piece of aluminum foil or play dough. How cool is that?
Now, clip additional alligator clips to the other sets of holes in the Makey Makey board and to other bananas, foil, or play dough, etc., and move to the online piano.
A note about Earth:
Holding on the Earth clip can be tiring. Try making a bracelet out of aluminum foil and clipping the Earth clip to the bracelet.
Check out the cool websites for more activities:
http://makeymakey.com/apps/
https://scratch.mit.edu/studios/223260/
And won’t someone try this and report back!
http://www.makeitatyourlibrary.com/technology/makey-makey-floor-piano#.W3wybc5KjIU