Makey Makey

The Makey Makey toy comes with a Makey Makey board, seven alligator cables, six white wires, and a MiniUSB cord. In order for a user to play with Makey Makey, the board must be connected to a computer that has access to the internet, as many of the applications of the toy are accessed through a provided website. Fruits, vegetables, or other conductive objects are used to create a functioning circuit between the Makey Makey board and the computer. The manual for the kit details how to set up the toy and some initial adult guidance might be necessary to show the user how to set up the toy for future use. 

The Makey Makey board has two different sides of varying coding difficulty. Each side contains different functions that the user may code for based on the amount of challenge they desire. The Makey Makey board allows the users to code for different keys on a keyboard, click on the screen, and other applications that can be accessed through the Makey Makey website. In order to program the Makey Makey board, the user must connect alligator clips to the desired output on the Makey Makey board, which varies depending on the application, and a conductive object within the user’s house such as a fruit or vegetable. Another alligator clip must be connected to the Makey Makey board and the user holds the other end to act as a grounding point for the board. Once the correct application is chosen, the user, holding one end of the alligator clip, is able to touch the object that conducts electricity and the desired output will be generated. For example, if the bongo application is chosen and the user taps the conductive object, the bongo will be ‘hit’ and a sound will be played. 

The Makey Makey toy introduces children to coding and how coding can be applied to scenarios that are applicable to users. There are a variety of different applications that the Makey Makey board can be used for, such as a computer keyboard that can be used to navigate a document and even a piano or bongos that the users can make music with. The user is first able to become acquainted with the toy by programming the Makey Makey board with a functioning spacebar and arrow keys. Once the user has become comfortable with the first application, they can navigate through the rest of the applications presented in the manual to strengthen the user’s programming skills and computational thinking skills. After the user has explored all of the applications in the manual, they can move on to creating original coding configurations that can be applied to playing video games, typing in documents, and much more. The Makey Makey (Classic) introduces users to coding principles and strengthens the user’s computational programming skills through interactive coding applications. 

Framework Categories

Engineering Thinking (EThink)
Processes of Design (POD)

Moore, T.J., Glancy, A.W., Tank, K.M., Kersten, J.A., Smith, K.A., & Stohlmann, M.S. (2014). A framework for quality K-12 engineering education: Research and development. Journal of Precollege Engineering Education Research, 4(1), 1-13.