Get Off the Table! With Makey Makey

If you coach a FIRST LEGO League Challenge team, you may be frustrated when your team (and even coaches!) lean on the table. It can knock over fragile mission models, interfere with your robots run, and even interfere with your table-mate's robot!

Using a Makey Makey kit and some simple supplies, you can train your team to stay off that table!

Makey Makey kit

copper tape or aluminum foil

double sided tape (if using foil)

computer

Using your copper tape, or aluminum foil and double sided tape, run two strips down the length of whichever side of the table your team congregates by. For my teams, it's always the south wall! Make sure your two strips are close together, but not touching. You may want to have the strip closest to the edge folded down the side as well.

Using the white wires from your Makey Makey kit, connect one wire to each of your foil or copper strips. A piece of tape can help secure it. Make sure the exposed part of the wire is touching your copper or foil.

One wire then can be placed inside an alligator clip from Makey Makey, with the other end of the clip going to Earth on the Makey Makey. The other wire can be connected to another alligator clip connected to the location of your choice on the Makey Makey.

In Scratch you can now write your code. Watch the video to see how to code your Makey Makey.

With any luck, your team will be so annoyed by your project that they will stop leaning on the table!