Week 1: Micro:Pet

Week 1: Micro:Pet If your kids are like mine, they’ll spend a few minutes playing with their fancy toys, and a few hours playing with good old-fashioned cardboard boxes, string and markers in the garage! Micro:Pet is a fun project that gets your kids’ creativity flowing using materials you can find around the house while incorporating electronics and coding concepts and activities with the micro:bit. For the Micro:Pet project, you’ll need: A computer with internet connection and USB port

A micro:bit Go Kit (available at Microcenter.com) that includes a micro:bit, a USB cable, a battery pack and batteries

Small cardboard boxes, toilet paper rolls, paper cups/bowls or anything you have around the house to construct your pet with

Markers, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, colored paper, feathers and anything else you have on hand to decorate your pet! Spotlight: Microsoft research newsletter Microsoft Research Newsletter Stay connected to the research community at Microsoft. Subscribe today Check out our fun video about our micro:pets! Step 1: What’s your dream pet? The first thing you’ll want to do is think about what kind of pet you want to create. It could be something you’ve always wanted to have as a pet, but couldn’t – say a unicorn, a dragon or a skunk. Step 2: Make your pet Using the materials at hand, create your dream Pet. Remember to include enough space in your design to attach your micro:bit and the battery pack. Step 3: Code the micro:bit If you have a Windows 10 computer, you can download and install the micro:bit app at http://aka.ms/microbitapp. Otherwise, go to https://makecode.microbit.org/. You can use your micro:bit in many different ways on your pet. Here is an example of a program for your Micro:Pet, but be creative and come up with your own unique project! Optional steps: 1. Adding audio You can add audio and play sounds through your micro:bit by connecting it to headphones, earbuds or an external speaker. Note: there is only one volume level at which the micro:bit plays – and it is very loud! Don’t put earbuds in your ear when you run your program. In addition to the micro:bit, you will need: Headphones, earbuds, or a speaker with an audio jack

alligator/crocodile clips (for example, see https://www.amazon.com/WGGE-WG-026-Pieces-Colors-Alligator/dp/B06XX25HFX/)or

A headphone adapter (see http://microbit-accessories.co.uk/shop/music/headphone-adapter/) 2. Adding motion You can add motion to your Micro:Pet – for example, wagging its tail when your pet is fed. To do this, you will need to attach a servo motor to your micro:bit. You will need: A 180-degree servo motor (see https://www.amazon.com/J-Deal-Micro-Helicopter-Airplane-Controls/dp/B015H5AVZG/)

3 alligator-to-male connector cables (see https://www.amazon.com/Alligator-Clip-Pigtail-10-Pack/dp/B07C6YHB9S/)

Week 2: Fortune Teller

Week 2: Fortune Teller This project generated hours of fun for my kids! They spent the next few days consulting their Fortune Teller machines – “What should I do today?” “Will I get ice cream for dessert?” “What game should my brother play next?” “Do I have to go to bed now?” Fortune Teller is a fun, easy project you can do with your kids using the Circuit Playground Express and some simple crafting materials. Apply now: 2021 PhD Fellowship A two-year fellowship for North American PhD students. Read more For this project, you’ll need: A computer with internet connection and a USB port

A Circuit Playground Express Base Kit (see https://www.adafruit.com/product/3517) that includes the Circuit Playground Express board, a USB cable, batteries and a battery pack

Paper – slightly thicker cardstock paper works better

Scissors

Tape

Colored Markers and/or Pencils or Pens

Stickers or anything else you want to use to decorate your Fortune Telling Machine Step 1: Envision your Fortune Telling Machine Will it give simple Yes/No/Maybe answers? Will it be a random number generator? Or will it give specialized responses – like types of games to play, ice cream flavors, or books to read? Use your imagination to come up with a unique Fortune Telling Machine! Step 2: Make your Fortune Telling Machine Watch the video. Position the Circuit Playground Express in the center of a piece of paper

Position the Circuit Playground Express in the center of a piece of paper Trace the outline of the board and put tick marks around the board to mark segments for the 10 lights. If you want, you can also use fewer than 10 options for your Fortune Teller. Draw the segments on your paper using a ruler or straight-edge.

Write the different answers or options for your Fortune Teller in each segment.

Cut out the shape of your fortune telling machine (round, triangle, square).

Using a loop of tape, or double-sided tape, stick your Circuit Playground Express board to the paper.

Poke a hole in the paper next to the battery port on the Circuit Playground Express.

Thread the wire from the battery pack through the hole and attach to the Circuit Playground Express.

Tape the battery pack onto the back of the paper.

Decorate your Fortune Telling Machine! Step 3: Code the Circuit Playground Express If you have a Windows 10 computer, you can download and install the MakeCode for Adafruit app at http://aka.ms/adafruitapp. Or just go to https://makecode.adafruit.com/. Watch how to write the code. Optional Step: To add a bit more complexity to your code, you can change the color that is displayed depending on the position of the light on the board. For example, if the random number lands in the “Yes” segment, show the light as green; if the random number lands in the “No” segment, show the light as red. And if the random number lands in the “Maybe” segment, show the light as purple.

Week 3: Minecraft Obstacle Course

Week 3: Minecraft Obstacle Course My kids absolutely love playing Minecraft! And when I have time, I love playing with them too. Incorporating coding activities with Minecraft is tons of fun – after all, who doesn’t love spawning hordes of sheep! Here’s another fun summer project you can do with your kids using MakeCode for Minecraft to create an Obstacle Course in Minecraft that you can challenge other Players to go through. Spotlight: Academic programs Now accepting applications for 2021 Ada Lovelace Fellowship A fellowship that provides a research funding opportunity for doctoral students underrepresented in the field of computing. Read more To learn more, watch the introductory video: For this project, you’ll need: A Windows 10 computer with an Internet connection.

The Setup instructions available at: https://minecraft.makecode.com/setup. You’ll want to download and install: Minecraft for Windows 10, or Minecraft: Education Edition Code Connection

Step 1: Plan your Obstacle Course The first thing you’ll want to do is think about what kind of obstacle course you want to create. What will each of the different challenges be? What do you need to build in the world for each challenge? Think about using the different options in the On Player action block – walking, flying, swimming, climbing, and so on. You can even work with your kids to map out their obstacle courses on paper before diving into the game. Step 2: Code your Obstacle Course Be creative in building your obstacle courses! Glean some ideas from the obstacle courses we created by looking at our code: Sage Obstacle Course – https://makecode.com/_U9W3UXWYYJ2s

Cyan Obstacle Course – https://makecode.com/_WgCKLFEWcDkT

Jacqueline Obstacle Course – https://makecode.com/_8qvCHUhsMMy8 Learn how to do it on your own. Check out our very kid-friendly coding video: Step 3: Play! Challenge your friends and family to get through your obstacle course. You can even use stop watch to see who can get through the fastest! For other fun Minecraft projects to do with your kids see: MakeCode project examples available at https://minecraft.makecode.com/examples

Minecraft build challenges available at http://aka.ms/meechallenges And be sure to check out our other MakeCode Summer 2018 projects.

Week 4: LEGO MINDSTORMS City

Week 4: LEGO MINDSTORMS City For this summer project, my kids created a little LEGO city with superheroes and bad guys. We used the LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 robot as the bad guy who comes in to destroy the city! We built the driving base and attached the color sensor that the robot uses to stop and start – much like a red/green traffic light. Defend our city, we will! Don’t miss the Introduction video available here. Apply now: 2021 PhD Fellowship A two-year fellowship for North American PhD students. Read more For this project, you’ll need: To purchase the LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 kit, either online or from a LEGO retailer

To update the EV3 brick firmware (instructions)

To build the driving base (instructions)

To attach the color sensor (instructions)

Some white paper

Colored markers

LEGO bricks

Colored index cards Step 1: Build your LEGO city Use a large piece of white paper (or several pieces) and tape it down to a table top.

Use colored markers to create roads, lakes and parks in your city.

Use LEGO bricks to create houses, cars, people and superheroes to protect your city,

We used colored cards to activate the Red light and Green light on our MINDSTORMS robot, but you can also use the colored parts on paper to trigger the color sensor. Step 2: Code the Red Light/Green Light program Here’s the code example of the Red Light Green Light program for the MINDSTORMS EV3 : Coding your Red Light/Green Light program. Don’t miss the coding video available here. You can also try the Line Following program to make your MINDSTORMS robot follow the roads in your LEGO City, or use the Ultrasonic sensor to detect objects. Have fun with this exciting Make Code project!

Week 5: Cue the Messenger

Week 5: Cue the Messenger Cue the Cleverbot is a very cute robot with a quirky attitude who your kids will absolutely love playing with! In this project, we’re going to be programming Cue to act as a messenger.Cue has lights, motors, buttons, sensors and a microphone and speaker that you can program. One of the great features of Cue that my kids discovered and had a blast with is its ability to record and play back audio files. We’ll be using this feature to send messages back and forth between the kids. Apply now: 2021 PhD Fellowship A two-year fellowship for North American PhD students. Read more For this project, you’ll need: A Cue the Cleverbot robot. You can purchase it online from Wonder Workshop.

A Cue-compatible device (this could be a phone, tablet or computer.) For more details on which device models are supported, see the Will my device work page at Wonder Workshop.

The Cue app. You can download it for free from the Microsoft Store, Google Play or the Apple Store. Don’t miss the Cue the Messenger Project Intro Video here. Step 1: What messages do you want Cue to send? The first thing you’ll want to do is think about what kind of message you want Cue to send. It could be a command, a secret, a funny joke or even a question and answer. In our case, we wanted to use Cue to ask what kind of drink Sage wanted – Apple Juice, or Chocolate Milk. Step 2: Map out the path between the Sender and the Receiver This is the physical path that Cue will travel to deliver messages back and forth. I recommend using pen and paper to draw this out before jumping into the code. Cue uses centimeters as the unit of measure for travelling distances. Step 3: Code Cue! Open the Cue app on your device and connect to your Cue robot by clicking on the blue Plus icon in the top right corner of the app. Make sure Cue is powered on to enable the Bluetooth connection.

Select the Code part of the app to get into the coding experience.

part of the app to get into the coding experience. Click on My Programs and then click Create a New Program .

and then click . Depending on the path you want Cue to travel and the message you want to send, construct your program by dragging and dropping blocks of code into the workspace.

To run your program, click on the orange Run button in the bottom right corner. You will most likely have to test and make adjustments to refine your program. Your programming environment may look something like what is shown in Figure 4. Figure 5 shows the code for our Cue Messenger program. The blocks we used were all in the Actions and Events categories. Note: To record a message, use the Custom Sound block and press the Record button. Our program’s custom sounds were as follows: Custom Sound 2 = “What drink would you like? Press the Circle button for Apple Juice or press the Square button for Chocolate Milk.”

Custom Sound 3 = “Apple Juice.”

Custom Sound 4 = “Chocolate Milk.” Hope you enjoy this MakeCode Summer project as much as we did!

Week 6: Chibitronics birthday card