Check out this great Drawdio project video and documentation from The Maker Mom.
We happened upon the Drawdio, the pencil-based device that turns anything that can conduct electricity into a theramin (you know that odd instrument from the Beach Boys’ song Good Vibrations?) after learning about Makey-Makey. You can buy the Drawdio pre-assembled or in kit form.
We opted for the kit from AdaFruit, which The Maker Teen then assembled, not without a few moments of frustration. Still, he saw the project through from start to finish on his own in one sitting. (What? Like I would have been able to help him?)
Drawdio is an electronic pencil that lets you make music while you draw! It’s great project for beginners: An easy soldering kit with instant gratification. Essentially, its a very simple musical synthesizer that uses the conductive properties of pencil graphite to create different sounds. The result is a fun toy that lets you draw musical instruments on any piece of paper.
Runs on a single AAA battery for many hours (even ‘nearly dead’ batteries will work)
Use any pencil – mechanical or plain. The kit comes with a 2B pencil, the softer the lead the better
Ridiculously fun for all ages
The electronic kit comes unassembled with all electronic components, PCB, hardware and pencil. AAA battery and tools necessary for assembly are not included. Please check the kit contents list to see what is included. Assembly is very easy and takes less than an hour, even if you’ve never soldered before!
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
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Thanks for the shout-out! I am doing a “holiday tech gifts for kids segment” for a Chicago news show (TV) and would like to show off a few of Adafruit’s plushie circuit components. Please get in touch if you’d like them featured.
Thanks for the shout-out! I am doing a “holiday tech gifts for kids segment” for a Chicago news show (TV) and would like to show off a few of Adafruit’s plushie circuit components. Please get in touch if you’d like them featured.