Going #BackToSchool isn’t all about shopping, it’s also about lesson planning, making plans, plans to make, and all that good stuff. What are you and your students going to get up to this year? We’ve added a ton of new guides this year to our Learn System – browse below for a few of our favorite classroom projects.
Gone are the days where you need thousands of dollars of equipment and lots physics/math background. Nowadays, if you want to learn to work with electronics, you can jump right in for $20 or less, and any sort of computer. And we’re talking about learning a lot of electronics – from the basics of analog to the complexities of firmware. With a good pack of parts, you can build a base of knowledge that will take you from your first blinking LED to someone who can start prototyping and inventing custom products.
A little cardboard goes a long way. This DIY cardboard shark mask turns the wearer into a fearsome creature from the deep. Using the small microphone on the Circuit Playground Express board, this mask is able to detect loud sounds and start chomping its mouth in response.
Easy project for people who are new to coding and electronics, or anyone who loves cardboard construction.
This project shows how to make a talking map, allowing the history contained within a map to be tangible and interactive.
Using conductive paint, a Circuit Playground Express can be connected to different points on a map and provided with short audio clips to play when those areas on the map are touched.
This is a project based course on Making with the Circuit Playground Express and Microsoft MakeCode. This course introduces the Making process and has guided maker projects which combine creative activities with coding.
Create a fun spinner game with Circuit Playground Express and MakeCode. Press a button on the Circuit Playground to make animated lights and sounds that help you choose between options.
Ever wanted to cosplay as the Wind Blowing emoji but didn’t feel like you could pull it off without an interactive, light up cloud prop? Then this is the project for you! No more excuses, go out and build that costume, and add this simple prop!!
Display your Pi Zero on your desk with this simple yet useful stand. 3D prints in one piece and doesn’t require any supports. It features mounting holes for securing a Pi Zero. A hole in the stand allows for wires to pass through for USB power and peripherals.
Stop motion animation is lots of fun to watch, and maybe even more fun to make! Using a tablet or smartphone with inexpensive or even free software, it’s very easy to make your own stop motion films.
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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 and our Discord!
