Musical Tile

We made button for the makey makey with foam, cardboard, and foil as a prototype for larger musical floor tiles. The final version of these tiles will be used to teach elementary school children the basics of coding in a fun and interactive way. Button presses will correspond to musical notes, and their surfaces will be decorated, combining their experience of technology with art and music.

• Foam board
• Cardstock/cardboard
• Thin & bendy cardboard
• Aluminum foil
• Wires (ends stripped) x2
• Wires (alligator clip ends) x2
• Tape (copper or other conductive metal preferable)
• Makey Makey
• Tools for piercing and cutting materials

**NOTE: If making multiple tiles, only one alligator clip is needed until the makey makey is full, and additional makey makeys are not needed unless it becomes full.

Using a pencil, screwdriver, or other stabby implement, pierce a hole through the foam board and run one stripped wire through it. Leave the majority of the wire hanging out of the "bottom" side, and leave a short length of purely-stripped wire on the top surface.

Place a piece of tape underneath the wire, sticky side up, and press the wire into it so that it is flush with the bottom. Afterwards, cover the top surface with foil, pressing it down to that it sticks to the tape and makes contact with the wire. Tape all around the foil so that it securely covers the top surface.

Layer cardstock or cardboard in a frame around the edge of the plate, until you have at least a half-centimeter of clearance. Frame height may need to be adjusted if the button does not work properly at the end. Pierce through any part of the frame just like step 1 to thread another wire for step 4.

Cut a piece of flexible cardboard to the same size as your frame, and tape foil to its surface. Tape the wire threaded at the end of step 3 to the foil along the edge (not covering the contact surface), and place it so that it covers the top without making contact, foil side down. It should make contact when pressed.

Tape the flexible cardboard to the frame, and put any visual designs you'd like on the top surface.

Route the wire connected to the bottom plate to "ground". Wire the top plate to any directional button.

Have fun with scratch connecting to the buttons.