Get to know the micro:bit board


What are we going to do?

In this activity you'll learn a bit more about the micro:bit board.

You'll learn about computer programming, algorithms and instructions.

After finishing this activity, you'll be able to use some of the micro:bit inputs to do diferent things like showing emojis or playing texts on the screen depending on the input.

You'll also assemble the humbot mi:pet. It's quite cool and you can choose different components to personalize it, awesome!

Materials

micro:bit board

The micro:bit was designed to be classroom-friendly from day one. More approachable than just coding, it's a great way to achieve fun, practical results with motivated students. Buy from here starter kit (recommended) or board only.

micro USB cable

If your micro:bit board didn't came with a USB cable, any microUSB cable should do the trick

Computer

The code editor is web based, so any computer with a web browser (and Internet connectivity) will do

Computer

You can donwload files for 3D printing from MyMiniFactory

Download

Instructions

1. Open editor

Once you've opened the editor, pick a name for your project. Remember that it should be something that easily identifies it. To create a program, you just have to select some blocks from the left side of your page and drag and drop them to your workspace.

2. Code with blocks

From the list of possible blocks, choose the ones needed to code something like the picture below. With this program, the micro:bit will say hello at the beginning, show a happy face when button A is pressed and a sad face when button B is pressed.

You can test your program with the simulator on the left of the screen. Once you're happy with the result, click on "Download".

Clic to zoom

3. Download to the board

When the program is ready and you click "Download", an HEX file will be downloaded to your computer (normally to your download folder). If download succeeded, a message will appear on your screen. Click "done".

Now, connect your micro:bit board to your computer using the micro USB cable. Your computer should now detect your micro:bit just as if it was an external drive. Search the HEX file you just downloaded and drag and drop them on your micro:bit drive. On windows you can right button on the HEX file and click send to MICROBIT.

4. Final result

After a few seconds, your program should start on your micro:bit board.

Congratulations, you're on the right path to be a maker!, now continue with the following challenges! 🙂

5. Assemble your pet

Now that you have your micro:bit code ready, it's time to assemble your personalized humbot mi:pet! Follow this video with instructions on how to do it and enjoy!

Now it's your turn!

It was about time to let you try it for yourself! I now propose some challenges that I encourage you to do. I think they are fun and I trust you can pass them!

Remember that each time you change the program by adding or removing some blocks, you can see how it looks at the left side of the editor. When you're happy with the result, you'll have to download it again and send it to micro:bit board following same steps as before.

Here you have:

  • Change the initial Hello! message for another one. You can choose whatever you like, but don't make it too long. Or if you prefer, you can show  a face or emoji (remember first activity).
  • Add another face when both buttons, A and B, are pressed at the same time.
  • Add another message or face when micro:bit board is shaked.
  • Extra challenge, if you were able to show a countdown on Activity 1, can you use A button to start the countdown and B button to stop it? And it would be awesome if you can use shake to reset the counter! 

If you managed to finish this activities, you can search for more challenges on micro:bit's website

What else?

Remember that, in order to assemble your pet, you'll need different screws depending on your design.

  • For the head-face-micro:bit: 3 x M3x14mm
  • For the hands or tentacles: 2 x M3x8mm
  • For the skateboard: 6 x M3x10mm
  • For the feet, snowboard, football boots or yeti: 2 x M3x8mm (countersunk) 

Continue your maker journey with the next activity: Variables

or return to maker workshop main page