The Makey Makey is a fun and educational tool made for computer functions and programming. It is easy to use in that it is made for all ages and skill levels. The Makey Makey encourages you to think outside the box and to use your imagination to come up with creative ways to use everyday objects for different functions on the computer.
The Makey Makey comes in a little box that you can use to store it, along with 7 alligator cables, 6 connector wires, a USB cord, an instruction sheet, and stickers. However, much of the instruction sheet is just suggestions: there really are no rules or limits for the Makey Makey! The creators wanted it to be accessible for people of all ages and skill levels, to inspire creativity in everyone. Makey Makey is also a great tool for teaching young children about computer science. It encourages kids to experiment with different objects and create their own inventions. It also lets adults be kids again as they tinker around with things like paper and pencil drawings, play dough, fruits and vegetables, and other fun everyday objects to find what works with their idea.
The Makey Makey allows you to use anything that is conductive to create a mouse, a button, a switch, or anything you want that activates a certain function linked to your computer. All you need to do in order to begin is to connect the Makey Makey to your computer using the USB cord, clip one end of an alligator clip to the “Earth” of the board and attach the other end to something that is able to conduct electricity (this is the fun part) – even your skin would work! You will need to open up a text editing software on your computer. Then you can click the space button as many times you want on the Makey Makey, and watch as the cursor magically moves. It’s just like a regular keyboard – but way cooler! You can even attach a conductive object – I used a house key – to the holes on the space button to make the object the button instead.
There’s also a lot of other ways you can use the Makey Makey. It works with many different computer programs, such as Scratch (which is a great way to teach kids about coding), Soundplant (where you can program the Makey Makey to play a sound when a certain button is pressed), and Arduino. With virtually anything, you can incorporate the Makey Makey to do something. And although the Makey Makey only has the letters W, A, S, D, and G to connect to, you only need to write a few lines of code in order to reprogram the board. The website (MakeyMakey.com) includes lots of different ways you can use the Makey Makey and interactive games you can play with it.
One of the ideas included in the instruction book – which I did, with some help from my lil’ sis – was to cut a guitar shape out of cardboard and then tape quarters (which are conductive) to the cutout. Five alligator cables should be clipped onto the quarters, and one should be clipped onto a piece of aluminum foil wrapped around the neck of the guitar. The alligator cables clip onto the connector wires that attach to the spot for the letter keys on the Makey Makey. After you’ve opened a text editor and when you’re touching the foil and one of the quarters, a letter will be entered onto the screen. As I’ve said, you can reprogram the letters (go to the website to learn more) so you really could use any keys you want. And you don’t have to stick to the instructions; you can go beyond that – be as creative as you want!
While the Makey Makey is mostly very simple and easy to use, reprogramming some of the functions on the back can be difficult and somewhat confusing. Otherwise, it is a great way to teach kids (both young AND old) about coding and electric circuits, and to inspire creativity that will lead to new ideas and inventions. The Makey Makey is super fun to work with, as it lets you play and experiment with all kinds of objects, and there is pretty much no limit to what you can do!
