Touch Tile Symphony

In this project, we created a touch-sensitive cardboard symphony. When touched, each tile triggers a different musical sound. Through using scratch, craft materials, and a makey makey, we created a project that can be easily recreated by younger audiences hoping to learn more about circuits.

You will need:

• 4" by 4" foam board (x4)
• 3" by 3" chipboard (x4)
• 3" by 3" cardboard (x4)
• 8" by 11" mat board
• 3" by 3" tinfoil (x8)
• 8" green wire (x4)
• 8" blue wire (x4)
• Screwdriver (or any sharp tool to poke a hole)
• Markers/paint
• Tape
• Copper tape
• Cutting board
• Box cutter
• Makey Makey
• Scratch program

To begin, cut the foam board, chipboard, mat board, and tinfoil into the proper dimensions. Using the box cutter and cutting board, cut out four 4" by 4" squares of foam board, four 3" by 3" squares of chipboard, four 3" by 3" squares of cardboard, and eight 3" by 3" squares of tinfoil. Next, cut out a square in the center of each piece of cardboard (creating ~1/2" border). Finally, prepare the wires by stripping 1/2" on each end.

Using markers, paint, or another medium, decorate each square of chip board however you would like!

Using tape, secure one piece of tin foil to the center of each piece of foam board. Next, attach one piece of tinfoil to the back (undecorated side) of each square of chipboard.

Using a screwdriver (or any other sharp tool), poke a hole on each side of the tinfoil attached to the foam board (repeat for each square of foam board). Make sure that the hole penetrates both the tinfoil and the foam board.

Thread the green wire through the back of one of the holes and secure it to the tinfoil on the foamboard using copper tape. Make sure that the entire portion of the stripped wire is covered with copper tape. Repeat these steps on each square of foam board.

After securing the green wires, attach the cardboard frames using tape. The outside of the frames should match up with the outside of the tin foil. Repeat for each square of foamboard.

Thread the blue wire through the back of the other hole in the foam board. Secure the wire to a top layer of chipboard (the side covered in tin foil) using copper tape. Attach the wire so that the chipboard can easily sit on top of the cardboard frames. Again, make sure that the entire stripped portion of the wire is covered by copper tape. Repeat these steps for each tile.

Finally, secure the chipboard to the cardboard frames using tape. The chipboard should lay easily on top of the cardboard. Repeat for each tile.

Lay out your tiles on top of the mat board in your preferred arrangement. Based on this arrangement, cut holes in the mat board so that the wires can be easily fed through. Feed both wires through the back of the mat board, and secure the tiles using tape.

Open a new project on scratch. Create a program that plays a different noise depending on which key is pressed. You will need four different sounds for four different tiles. Feel free to use our program as an example.

Start by plugging your Makey Makey into your computer. Attach each blue wire to the section labeled "Earth." Then, attach each green wire to its prospective key. Check your scratch program to see which key corresponds to each sound.

Finally, test your project by pressing on the top of each tile! Each tile should play its own unique sound on the scratch program. If your project does not work, experiment and problem-solve. We hope you enjoy playing with these cardboard symphony tiles!