I am a huge fan of entomology displays, and wanted to create one that is interactive. When the copper tape on the surface of the frame is touched, the butterflies illuminate through a capacitive touch sensor. The blank white strip of paper to the side of each butterfly shows the name, scientific and common, for a bit of unexpected learning.
I created a box frame that is deep enough to house the paper butterflies along with the Arduino and breadboard. I would liked to have made a larger version with a ton of insects but three ended up being a challenge in itself.
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 7pm 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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