Chibitronics – Mashing Craft and Electronics in an exciting Maker Opportunity

For those who are fans of Manga or Anime, the term Chibi will be familiar as one used to describe super cute figures, usually with tiny bodies and huge heads. Chibi also is a Japanese slang term for tiny. Whether it is their tiny size or the super cute things you can create,the name ‘Chibitronics’ was a great choice of inventor, Jie Qi,. Chibitronics combine tiny sensors and electronic circuits with stickers, making it possible for anyone with imagination and some time to create interactive designs.

Chibitronics are an exciting addition to a Makerspace. They consist of tiny circuits on stickers, which can be combined with copper tape or conductive paint to make almost anything interactive. (click on the images below for a larger picture of these tiny stickers).

Although the kits come with extra sticky backing so they can be re-used, the nature of chibitronics is that they are essentially consumable. This means that for those planning their inclusion in a makerspace, they are more effective as a special project material.

The starter kit is a great introduction, and provides everything you need to get started, as well as a comprehensive ‘sketchbook’ that gives examples of different ways of using the components and materials, including creating a simple circuit, parallel circuits, diy switches, blinking slide switches and DIY pressure sensors. Copper tape is supplied, and this or conductive paint can be used to create the circuits. The option to follow the instructions and create interactive examples within the pages of the sketchbook is there, or the simple projects can be reproduced using just paper or card.

Click on the image to go to this tutorial on the Chibitronics site.

The combination of circuitry and creativity that Chibitronics enables leads to a huge number of STEAM opportunities, where artistic creations can be made truly interactive. I created a simple interactive Library poster, where lights indicate different sections of the library when one presses the stickers next to the floorplan legend:

On the back of the colour overlay, are copper tape ‘switches’ that close the circuit to light the appropriate area when the gold sticker is pressed. You can see how it works in the video below:

Online, there is a Chibitronics forum community where ideas can be shared, and lots of wonderful creations to spark the imagination available on the Projects page

For those who want to extend themselves, Chibtronics also has advanced stickers, that enable you to use sound to activate the lights (watch the lights twinkle in the video below when the sound sensor picks up the breath:

or even connect a microcontroller for added flexibility.

ResourceLink has a kit which includes samples of all of these stickers, as well as the sketchbook and a hyperlink to this post. For schools within Brisbane Catholic Education, you can borrow this kit to see what Chibitronics look like in real life (although you can’t actually use the stickers), and to explore whether or not you would like to invest in a set for a special project with your mini makers (students!).

This is the sample kit you can borrow from ResourceLink. It has examples of all types of Chibitronics for you to look at, as well as the interactive library poster example, the Sketchbook and also a photocopiable booklet of the Chibitronic templates and tutorials.

Share your project ideas in the comments; Chibitronics are another fantastic and exciting new way that students can be empowered to apply their scientific knowledge in real and engaging ways to create and invent. Check them out!

 

Running a Maker Faire: Good Hard Fun at St Joachim’s

After being inspired by our fantastic day working with Gary Stager and Sylvia Martinez at the Invent to Learn day hosted by Brisbane Catholic Education (which you can read about in the earlier post, Resourcing the Maker Movement, my colleagues and I decided to run a Maker Faire at one of our schools. Being based at ResourceLink, I began creating kits of resources and equipment that we could use to run the Maker Faire, and which could then be borrowed by schools who wish to investigate using this style of hands on learning.

Running the Maker Faire

The plan was to run the Maker Faire at St Joachim’s, Holland Park West, where we could work with the Teacher Librarian who had also attended the Invent to Learn day, to introduce the Year 5,6 & 7 students to a range of hands on activities based on the ideas in Invent to Learn.

We organised the students into groups of 8, and timetabled them to spend about one hour on each of the activities, which they would rotate through throughout the day.

One space, ‘Cardboard Alley’ was open for the students to visit at any stage during the day, and offered the students the opportunity to use Makedo and Rolobox equipment with a huge assortment of cardboard boxes of all shapes and sizes. This was an important option, as it provided students a place to go and recharge if they completed an activity early, or if they just needed a ‘brain break’ from the more challenging activities.

During the Maker Faire, the students had fun with:

Lego WeDo – an introduction to Lego engineering and robotics, Lego WeDo allows students from Year 3 and up to build and program simple models such as cranes, cars and ferris wheels. Using either the Lego WeDo software, or the free programming app Scratch, students can experiment and develop skills in  language and literacy, math and technology, as well as enhance their creativity, communication and design skills.

Arduino – Arduino is an open-source electronics  platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. Using Arduino, students can write simple programs using  Arduino open source software to create projects using motors, gearboxes, speakers, LEDs, switches, cases and many other electronic parts.Projects can be as simple or as complex as you wish, suiting users from Year 5 and up.

Makey Makey – allows students to turn everyday objects into touchpads and combine them with the internet. Simply use the supplied wires or alligator clips to connect any type of everyday item (such as fruit, plants, coins, play dough etc) to the Makey Makey board, and then plug the board into the computer, and you are able to interact with the computer by way of the attached objects. Students love playing computer games using fruit as the controllers!

Squishy Circuits– by combining conductive and non-conductive dough with a battery pack, leds, small motors and buzzers, students are able to create innovative simple circuits of any shape. A fascinating way to learn about circuitry and basic electronics.

Interactive Cardcraft– students were able to make light up greeting cards by using conductive paint and copper tape along with led lights and small batteries to create simple circuits on the cards. The challenge was to apply their understanding of circuits and switches to the real-life application of the greeting card.

Interactive Wearables – Using ideas from this wonderful soft circuits booklet, students created brooches and arm-bands that lit up by sewing circuits using conductive thread, copper tape, batteries and led lights. While the sewing was challenging, so too was the application of their understanding of simple circuits to another practical challenge.

During the day, the students had so much fun. Their smiles, their engagement and the question ‘is this really school work?’ was evidence that the Maker Faire was a big success. However, not only did the students have fun; they also learnt so much about circuitry, programming, robotics and simple electronics, as well as developing their creativity, their problem-solving strategies and their ability to collaborate and work together. We encouraged the students to ask each other for help, and to share their successes and failures throughout the day. Listen to the conversations the students are having during this short video:

Constructing the Invent to Learn kits: advice for libraries wishing to resource Maker Spaces

When creating the kits for the Maker Faire, I purchased equipment from a range of different outlets. As a library, ResourceLink cannot supply the consumable equipment required for these kits, and so I created detailed lists of what was included and what the user needed to supply in order to run the activity successfully. This information is included in each kit on a laminated card (copies of which you can download below). I also included where possible printable information and instruction cards, which you can download also from the links below. Being based in Brisbane Australia, please note that some of the suppliers are locally based, however some of the online retailers ship all over the world.

Cardboard Construction:

Click on the image to download a printable pdf version.

Click on the image to download a printable pdf version.

Squishy Circuits:

Click on the image to download a printable pdf version.

Makey Makey:

Click on the image to download a printable pdf version.

Arduino:Lego Engineering:Interactive Papercraft:

Links to all of the resources you could possibly need to learn more about Maker Faires and creating maker spaces in a library are available on the ResourceLink Pinterest Board, Makerspaces and STEAM in Libraries or Anywhere, and also curated on this Pearltrees site.

For those who want to try running their own Maker Faire, I can only say: Go for it! The learning, the enjoyment and engagement is well worth the organisation, and the equipment is really not as costly as you would imagine. Start small, and build up. You may be surprised at what your school already owns, once you start investigating! For those in Brisbane Catholic Education, borrow these pre-made kits as a ‘try before you buy’ – contact ResourceLink find out how you can borrow these new resources today!