Lend a (Makey) Hand

Want to make a safe and simple way for students to interact with a Makey Makey? Lend them a hand. Two, in fact. By making a pair of cardstock and aluminum foil cut out hands, we can wire up a Makey Makey and make it act like any button on a computer.

A Hand, Cardstock, Aluminum foil, Glue stick, Scissors, Copper tape Wiring Makey Makey Computer

Gather two pieces of cardstock, scissors, pencil, a piece of aluminum foil and borrow a hand. (Aluminum foil sheets work especially well for young makers.) Draw an outline of the hand on cardstock, then cut it out. Stack your items so that you have a full sheet of cardstock on the bottom, glued to your aluminum foil sheet. Place your hand cut out on top, but don't glue it down yet.

Before you glue down the hand, find a part that will be hidden by the top layer and add your wire. Using a piece of clear tape, place the stripped wire against the foil and seal it firmly to the foil with a piece of copper tape over the stripped end. This will allow for an electrical contact over the whole piece of foil. Glue this sandwich together to hide your wiring.

Make a pair!

With your two wires, choose one to connect to the ground. The other can be attached to whichever button you choose. Try space bar for a photo booth prompt or timer start; try left click and start a video or a Scratch project. We made ours trigger a Baby Shark attack!

Enjoy!