Felix touched David’s arm and the computer played a piano’s C key. After a quick series of giggles he high-fived Stella to hear a D. I took the control and tapped each of their hands to play ‘Mary had a Little Lamb’–at least as much of it as I could before they shook with laughter and asked to try it. Moments before I had demonstrated with a few bananas, letting them touch each banana for a different key.

These preschoolers and I were playing with the Makey Makey kits we borrowed from the State Library of NH after their regular storytime with Abi. The kit is super simple; it has a control, a usb cable, and several alligator clip wires. With it, you can turn anything conductive enough into a computer input, just like a keyboard or mouse. With one hand holding the ‘ground’ wire connected to the controller and another hand touching the banana that’s alligator wire clipped to the ‘spacebar’ input on the controller, you’ve made a circuit that electricity can pass through. If you have an app open where spacebar plays the C key, voila. Let go and the circuit is cut–the sound stops.

There are lots of fun things to do when fruit and people can be buttons. I couldn’t stop laughing when the boy who was the spacebar moved away just when the teen controlling Mario needed him the most. Of course, the first thing the teens thought to do was to play games. It is difficult to play fast or complex games when your friends are the movement keys, but simple games like Mario are perfect. We did some experimentation: metal ruler conducts, wooden table does not. Joey’s sweatshirt doesn’t conduct, but his skin does. A gadget like this doesn’t have to be complex or difficult to understand to be interesting and fun.

We are fortunate to be able to borrow gadgets like these from the State Library of NH. In the past we have borrowed robots, circuitry kits, programming kits, what I can only call super legos, and 3d pens. These things are all up side. Educational, wholesome, and often hilarious, teens and toddler alike enjoy seeing them in action, especially when they have control. With any luck the teens will invent mind-control devices in no time.

-Mark T, Gilford Public Library