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Kinetic Sculpture: Program the Pico Cricket to Make Your Art Light Up or Spin
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Use a Pico Cricket (micro-controller) to animate your art! You can program a Pico Cricket to make your art spin, light up, or make music.

Pico Cricket (Tiny Computer) Activity Ideas
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This is a web page that helps informal educators brainstorm on how to use a Pico Cricket (tiny computer) in an informal activity.

Cactus Needle Phonograph
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Build a phonograph record player using a cactus needle, a record, LEGOs gear box, and a piece of paper! This activity uses a Pico Cricket to turn the motor.

Shrinking Polymers
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In this activity, learners discover that some plastics will shrink when you get them hot. Learners bake polystyrene in a regular oven and discover what happens.

Exploring Materials: Thin Films
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In this activity, learners create a colorful bookmark using a super thin layer of nail polish on water. Learners discover that a thin film creates iridescent, rainbow colors.

Rainbow Film
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In this activity, learners use clear nail polish to create a beautiful iridescent pattern on black paper. Learners discover that a thin film creates iridescent, rainbow colors.

Interactive Pencil Drawings: Drawings That Tell a Story!
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Margaret Pezalla-Granlund, a Minnesota artist, came up with this really fun and surprising activity using graphite from a pencil, connected with a Pico Cricket to tell a story: "The first time I saw s

Cardboard Automata
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Cardboard Automata are a playful way to explore simple machine elements while creating a mechanical sculpture.

Pico Cricket Compass
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Learners can program a compass to draw a circle by itself using a Pico Cricket, some Legos, and lots of tape! Pico Cricket is required.

Make Pan Pipes
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This is a simple activity for learners to create a traditional musical instrument. Pan Pipes have developed all over the world in different cultures, from South America to Greece and China.

Balloon Nanotubes Tabletop
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This activity introduces learners to the structure and properties of carbon nanotubes.

Scribbling Machines
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In this activity, learners explore electronics and motion by making a Scribbling Machine, a motorized contraption that moves in unusual ways and leaves a mark to trace its path.

How to Make an Audio Tape Bow
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From this How To slide show, you create an Audio Tape Bow that can play distorted audio sounds by running it across a tape head.

Exploring Materials: Nano Gold
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In this activity, learners discover that nanoparticles of gold can appear red, orange or even blue. They learn that a material can act differently when it’s nanometer-sized.

Nanoparticle Stained Glass
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In this activity/demo, learners are introduced to the connection between medieval stained glass artisans and nanotechnology.

Nature Journals
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In this activity, learners construct a home-made journal with simple, everyday materials.
Magnus Glider
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A design challenge that takes paper airplanes into an entirely different direction: a magnus glider uses cups and and rubber bands to create a glider that uses the same forces that a curveball (from b

Gumdrop Chains and Shrinky Necklaces
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In this activity, learners thread gumdrops together to make a model of a polymer.

Balancing Sculptures
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In this activity, learners will use a variety of household and/or natural objects to design a sculpture that balances from a single point.

Cardboard Sculptures
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Learners explore the endless possibilities of cardboard engineering in this open-ended STEAM activity. Practice being creative by building structures with no glue, only cardboard and scissors.