The Maker Movement has been steadily gaining momentum over the last several years. Makerspaces are popping up everywhere, including in schools, libraries, and, in the case of my hometown, the local mall! It’s a fascinating aspect of our modern culture and empowers everyone to think outside the box, engineer, innovate, and grow.
As we turn our attention towards making, we are starting to realize just how much there is to do in the world and many of us find ourselves wanting to take our ideas on the go. Perhaps born from the constant availability of mobile-friendly technology, we’ve all wondered ‘why be tied down to one place when I could be inventing in my own backyard?’ Joy Labz, creators of one of the original and most popular maker tools (the Makey Makey), has come up with an ingenious solution to this very problem: The Makey Makey GO!
If you are an educator or the parent of a student, you probably already know about the Makey Makey, but in case you don’t, I’ll briefly fill you in. The Makey Makey is a system used not only to invent, but also to teach children about the power of the world around them. It comes with a specially designed board and a set of alligator clips, which makers of all ages can use to turn everyday objects into a playground of STEM learning!
The message? So many things are conductive (meaning electricity can pass through them), from a banana to our own bodies! If it’s conductive, you can use it with the Makey Makey to create a touchpad that completes a specific action when hooked up to a computer. One of the most famous Makey Makey projects is making a piano out of bananas and, in our office we frequently show kids a game in which they can use Makey Makey to learn about the values of American coins.
The Makey Makey GO miniaturizes the classic Makey Makey and allows makers to take learning on the go. It looks very similar to the original Makey Makey board, but where it differs is that the GO’s board itself is a USB stick (with a handy keyring attached). The GO comes with the board and one pair of alligator clips and that’s it! The simplicity of the kit allows kids to easily transport wherever they go, and so long as they have a laptop, they can create compelling inventions anywhere! A couple of sample projects we suggest? Building a game controller using Play-Doh and Sketch It, Play It, in which kids use pencil lead to complete a circuit.
I used our Makey Makey GO to interact with a bunch of easily available Scratch applets on the Makey Makey website. Using my own hands as a conductor, I got to play an electronic harp, a game of Flappy Bird (remember that one?), and take an online quiz. All of those apps are easily accessed if you would like to add anything extra to your Makey Makey experience.
In terms of STEAM education, the Makey Makey GO is a great addition to the Makey Makey brand, and its easy portability makes it a great choice for those adventurous makers who are always on the go. It’s also a phenomenal option for enlivening an outdoor STEM learning curriculum or creating a mobile makerspace. There aren’t many tools that instantly help kids stretch their creativity and literally think outside the box, resulting in countless new inventions every year—mostly from innovative kids who dream them up themselves!
If you have an EdTech product in mind that you would like to see featured on the Eduporium Experiment, let us know by sending us a message on Facebook or Twitter. And, don’t forget to look out for the next edition of the Eduporium Experiment coming at you next Wednesday!