Teacher Resource: Makey Makey Piano

This activity is a guide for running a Makey Makey activity with your students, based on Questacon Smart

Skills Teacher Workshop 3. Potential curriculum links are provided at the end of this document, but this

activity can be used in many ways across stages 3 to 5. There are many cross-subject links that can be

explored through this activity which can focus on digital technologies and coding or tend towards STEAM

(Science Technology Engineering Arts and Maths).

In this workshop, participants use simple materials and a Makey Makey to build a peg piano, augmenting

a computer based keyboard into physical objects. Makey Makey is an invention kit that turns everyday

objects into touchpads and combines them with your computer. It can be used for art, engineering, and

everything in between. The product name comes from the combination of two words: Make + Key =

Makey Makey!

The activity is quite directed and doesn’t leave much room for inquiry and design. However, completing

this activity will help people to realize the potential of the Makey Makey. The possibilities with the Makey

Makey are almost endless and it can be a great way to encourage creativity and enhance engagement

for a range of topics, especially digital technologies and programming.

Resources and requirements The main requirement for this workshop is a Makey Makey. These can be purchased online from a range

of websites. You should choose a supplier that best meets your requirements. We have previously

sourced ours from:

The original creators, Makey Makey, who ship from the USA

Local supplier Little Bird Electronics, who ship from Australia

When using the Makey Makey, you will need a laptop or computer to plug it into via the USB port

For this activity, you will also need:

A graphite (lead) pencil and paper

3 x large popsticks/tongue depressors

3 x small popsticks

6 x wooden pegs

2 x wooden beads, slightly larger in diameter than the width of the peg

Copper tape (about 5mm across)

o This can be bought from online suppliers, or from hardware stores where it is sold as

“Snail And Slug Barrier”

Makey Makey Peg Piano Activity

1

Start by plugging your Makey Makey into your

computer via USB, using the supplied red

cord. The Makey Makey is double-sided, but in

this activity we will use the side with the large

arrows and circles.

2

In your internet browser, open up

www.makeymakey.com/piano

Test out the piano by pressing the arrow keys on

your keyboard. Can you hear the notes?

3

Draw a series of up to six “barbells” on your

paper with the graphite pencil. One end of the

barbell should be close to the edge of the

page. Make sure you colour the barbells in

solidly so there are no gaps.

Connect one crocodile clip to one of the

“Ground” locations on the Makey Makey. You

will need to hold the other end of this

crocodile clip while playing your piano.

4

Connect the other crocodile clips from one end

of the barbells to the large arrows and circles on

the Makey Makey.

Tap the other end of the pencil barbells while

holding on to the ground crocodile clip. You

should hear your pencil piano play!

If your piano doesn’t play, check your speakers

are on and you’ve connected the wires properly.

You may also need to go over some of the pencil

shading to ensure a complete circuit.

5

Put the pencil piano aside and lay out your

pegs for the peg piano. Cut five or six lengths

of copper tape that are about the length of a

peg.

6

Peel back the protective layer on the copper

tape and stick the tape onto the peg. Make sure

the tape goes all the way over one end of the

peg leg. Repeat for all your pegs.

7

Take two of the large popsticks and lay them

flat, side by side. Hot glue the three small

popsticks onto the pair of larger ones,

distributed evenly across.

8

Flip the popsticks over, so you have a flat

surface to work on.

Glue the wooden beads on the end of the large

popsticks.

Glue the pegs across the popsticks with the

copper tape facing up. Make sure about 1-2cm

of the peg is poking off the end of the larger

popsticks.

9

Take the remaining large popstick and place

two strips of copper tape on one half of it.

10

Glue the remaining large popstick on top of the

two beads, so that there is a small gap between

the pegs and the popstick.

11

Unclip the Makey Makey from your pencil

piano and clip it into your peg piano. The

ground wire should connect to the copper

tape on the large top popstick, while the

individual keys connect to the pegs.

Press the pegs to play your piano. Can you

play a tune?

Curriculum Links

Australian Curriculum: Design and Technology

Digital Technologies Processes and Production Skills Strands Using the Makey Makey with programming tools such as Scratch, would meet the curriculum content

listed below. Makey Makey gives students a way to extend their digital programming into the physical

world. The Makey Makey also forces students to think about user-centered design, as they create

physical objects to control the computer.

Years 3 and 4

Implement simple digital solutions as visual programs with algorithms involving branching (decisions)

and user input (ACTDIP011)

Years 5 and 6

Implement digital solutions as simple visual programs involving branching, iteration (repetition), and user

input (ACTDIP020)

Years 7 and 8

Implement and modify programs with user interfaces involving branching, iteration and functions in a

general-purpose programming language (ACTDIP030)

Years 9 and 10

Implement modular programs, applying selected algorithms and data structures including using an

object-oriented programming language (ACTDIP041)

Other subjects This project is a simple and easy way to use the Makey Makey and augment your computer keyboard into

larger physical forms, but there are many more ways to use the Makey Makey to enhance lessons in a

range different subject areas. For some ideas, follow the links below.

This YouTube playlist shows many different ways to use the Makey Makey and might provide

some inspiration.

Makey Makey have their own lesson guides, with suggestions for all age groups. While this is

based around the US School Curriculum, the ideas are still applicable in Australia

Makey Makey also have their own Educators Forum where educators can share the ideas that

they’ve developed for using Makey Makey in their own classroom