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PIPER COMPUTER

Everything you need to teach STEAM effectivly using the Piper Computer Kit.

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Teach fundamental STEM skills while providing a bridge to career connected learning.

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ALL MAKE GUIDES


  1. Security Zone
  2. Ultrasonic Drum
  3. Resistor Piano
  4. Walker Race
  5. Walker Dance
  6. Walker Detect
  7. Runaway Rover
  8. Rover Sensor Steering

  1. Lighthouse
  2. Frog Frenzy
  3. Game Controller
  4. Minecraft Controller
  5. Retro Racer

  1. Security Zone
  2. Ultrasonic Drum
  3. Resistor Piano
  4. Ther-Mood-Stat
  5. Color Coded
  6. Pulse

  1. Beam Break
  2. Car Race
  3. Motion Ball

  1. Solar House
  2. Soil Sensor
  3. Air Guitar

  1. Light Show
  2. Light Show Animation

Make-A-Thon

PIPER MAKE

EDUCATOR GUIDES


YOU ARE HERE

Base expedition

Mission 3 of 10

Base expedition: Mission 3 of 14

Traffic Light


Intermediate

1 hour

Grades 3 - 8

MISSION OBJECTIVE

Learn to build and code a working traffic light.

Piperbot and Pip are dealing with an intergalactic traffic jam! In this mission, students will build a series of LEDs and program them to light up in specified ways, introducing hardware inputs and outputs and coded elements like time delays, sequential triggers, and code loops.

View student interface at make.playpiper.com
MISSION CHARACTERS

Piperbot

Pip
MISSION MATERIALS

Computer with USB port and Chrome or Edge browser
Piper Make Base Station or Starter Kit

MISSION RESOURCES

Learning Goals

  1. Students will build 3 LEDs (red, yellow, and green) and learn how to code them to light up sequentially.
  2. Students will code a loop to turn the LEDs off and on at certain time intervals. Upon completion, they will understand which command in the Python code determines the timing of the blinking.
  3. Makers Challenge: Students will consider how to add a button to affect the sequence of lights at the stoplight.
  4. Career Connections

    Software Developer: Salary $127,260/yr
    Electrical Engineer: Salary $127,260/yr
    Data Scientist: Salary $103,500/yr
    Construction Manager: Salary $101,480/yr

    Hardware Diagram

    Blueprint

    DOWNLOAD BLUEPRINT

    Have an different version? Look for more information on the Support Page.

    Troubleshooting Tips

    • Is the LED failing to light up when you hit START?
      • The most common issue is that the LEDs may be plugged in incorrectly. Be sure the anode and cathode (i.e., short and long sides of LEDs) are oriented correctly, according to the tutorial.
      • Ensure that you’ve plugged the wires into the right GPIO. Look at the Digital View to see which pin you’re affecting.

    Our customer support specialists are on hand to ensure your implementation of Piper runs seamlessly.
    View Support Docs or Contact Support
    Base EXPEDITION RESOURCES
    • Explanation of Pull Up and Pull Down
      What are Pull-Up and Pull-Down Resistors? Read this overview to learn more.
    • Google Teachable Machine
      A fast, easy way to create machine learning models for your sites, apps, and more – no expertise or coding required.
    • The Artificial Intelligence (AI) for K-12 initiative
      The initiative is developing national guidelines for AI education for K-12, an online, curated resource Directory to facilitate AI instruction, and a community of practitioners, researchers, resource and tool developers focused on the AI for K-12 audience.

    Vocabulary Words

    Circuit A conductive path for flow of current or electricity

    Power The current or flow of electric charge and voltage

    Microcontroller An integrated circuit that contains a microprocessor along with memory and associated circuits

    Loops A sequence of instruction s that is continually repeated until a certain condition is reached

    Variables A value that can change, depending on conditions or on information passed to the program

    Input Device A hardware device that sends data to a computer, allowing interaction and control

    Output Device A piece of hardware which converts information into a human-perceptible form

    View Full Glossary

    Material Library

    Coming Soon!

    Standards Alignment