Join us in the IdeaLab for hands-on high-tech crafting using the principles of computing. This week: we’re rocking out with home-made guitars from simple materials!

Tuesday October 13 from 5-6:30pm
$35 per participant. For ages 9 to 14.

The Challenge: Can you turn a piece of cardboard and copper into a real musical instrument?

What Kids Will Do: Kids turn physical crafting into an acoustic performance! After cutting out custom guitar frames, they'll lay down conductive copper tape frets and use alligator clips to transform their fingers into music triggers. Using capacitive touch sensing, touching different frets completes a safe circuit that plays synthesized pitch tones and custom melodies through their micro:bit!

Skills Learned: Conductivity & closed-circuit pathways, capacitive touch sensing, frequency-to-pitch mapping, and digital audio synthesis.

Materials: This class uses the Micro:Bit Microcontroller ($24.95) and Micro:Bit Expansion Board ($10.00). Already have them from a previous session? Great, bring them along! Need to get them? You can purchase them at check-out or at the museum when you arrive for class.