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Build Your Own Wind Turbine
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Learners construct an electricity-generating wind turbine out of a plastic bottle.

Fan Cart
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If a sailboat is stranded because there is no wind, is it possible to set up a fan on deck and blow wind into the sail to make the boat move?

Laser Lissajous: PVC Version
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In this activity, learners use a laser pointer and two small rotating mirrors to create a variety of fascinating patterns, which can be easily and dramatically projected on a wall or screen.

Plugged in to CO2
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In this activity, learners investigate various appliances and electronics, discovering how much energy each uses and how much carbon dioxide (CO2) is released to produce that energy.

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 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.

Paper Tape Motion Timer
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In this activity, learners build a recording timer made from simple materials (e.g., small dc motor, sharpie pen, craft sticks, adding machine paper tape, etc.).

Clap Sensor: Build a Sound Sensor Using a Pico Cricket
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This activity requires a Pico Cricket (tiny computer). Learners work on designing and building a sound sensor out of household materials, like plastic wrap and cardboard.

Musical Gloves
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Put on a pair of gloves and be the conductor of your invisible orchestra!

Pickle-oh!: Musical Pickle Instrument
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What's a Pickle-Oh? Two pieces of pickle on a stick are connected to a Pico Cricket (micro controller). When you slide the pickles apart the note changes.

Photolithography
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In this activity, learners use UV light to transfer a pattern onto a plastic board. The pattern is transferred by placing a mask (a transparency sheet with the pattern) on a plastic board.

Social Fireflies: Pico "Firefly" Communication
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Make two firefly lanterns, then program them to blink to one another and change colors.

Laser Lissajous: Binder Clip Version
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In this activity, learners use a laser pointer and two small rotating mirrors to create a variety of fascinating patterns, which can be easily and dramatically projected on a wall or screen.

Light Painting
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Light painting is a creative activity that involves creating striking images and illusions using a camera, a light source, and a little practice.

Overnight Painting Machine: Pico Cricket Activity
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This activity requires a Pico Cricket (tiny computer).

Magic Lanterns
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A magic lantern is a light that projects an image onto a screen.

Marble Mazes
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In this activity, learners create a marble maze that contains sensors. As a metal marble triggers the sensors, the Pico Cricket turns on lights or spins motors.

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.

Musical Ice: How to Make an Ice Theremin
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Build a musical ice theremin by programming a micro controller, like a Pico Cricket to respond to resistance generated by the ice melting, or the ice being touched.

Using Ohm's Law to Build a Voltage Divider
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In this activity, learners apply Ohm’s Law to construct voltage divider circuits. Learners discover how to read resistor codes and calculate resistor values.