Category Archives: Projects

Micro:bit Pumpkin

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As I write this post it’s Halloween in the UK.  I run a Code Club at a local school, and today is club day.  So why not combine the two with some digital pumpkin carving!

All you need is to print out a pumpkin shape to the size of a Microbit on some standard printer paper.  The LEDs are bright enough to shine through to display whatever pattern or shape you make.

The code can be as simple or as adventurous as you like.  Use the “show icon” block for one of the predefined shapes.  Use “show LEDs” to make your own.  Attach different shapes to different actions, or even animate it.

 

Here’s the Word Template I created.  The original pumpkin clipart is from TechFlourish.com and to the best of my knowledge is free for personal use.

LEGO Batman Clock Hack

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Holy Batman

Inspired by Dan Aldred‘s LEGO Clock hacks (http://www.tecoed.co.uk/darth-beats.html and http://www.tecoed.co.uk/yoda-tweets.html) I picked up a broken Batman clock from eBay for some hacking shenanigans.  I had several aims, based on the great work of Dan before me

  • Add a Pimoroni Scroll pHAT HD, which would allow both text and graphics to be displayed
  • Attempt to retain the existing button board
  • See if the on board piezo was usable
  • Light the white eyes behind the cowl

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Tweeting Dinosaur

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This project was inspired by the work of Andy Stanford-Clark (@andyc) and Lucy Rogers (@drlucyrogers).  They used NodeRED to control a Maplin Action Dino kit via the Twitter hashtag #wakedino.  When a tweet containing #wakedino is found by the NodeRED script, the motor is started, which in turn makes the dinosaur nod up and down.

I opted to recreate their work in Python using the Tweepy library.  I also wanted to build upon the NodeRed implementation with the addition of sound, and the capturing and tweeting of an image. Continue reading →