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PIPER COMPUTER

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

Educator Guides StoryMode Project Guides PiperCode Project Guides
PIPER MAKE

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

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EDUCATOR PORTAL

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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

  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

PIPER MAKE

EDUCATOR GUIDES


YOU ARE HERE

Base expedition

Bonus Project 2 of 4

Base expedition: Mission 2 of 14

Ultrasonic Drum


Beginner

1 hour

Grades 3 - 8

MISSION OBJECTIVE

Learn how to play the Distance Sensor as an instrument.

Piperbot and Pip need help soothing Baby Zomar to sleep. Play your Distance Sensor as an instrument to help. Ask students: “How does your instrument know when and what sound to play? How does an electric keyboard know how to make a sound?”

View student interface at make.playpiper.com
MISSION CHARACTERS

Piperbot

Pip

Baby Zomar
MISSION MATERIALS

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

MISSION RESOURCES

Learning Goals

  1. Students will use the distance measured by your Distance Sensor to play different notes like an instrument (particularly like a drum!).
  2. Students will understand how to use variables, loops, and conditionals to convert distances to different notes using list mapping.
  3. Students will understand how the Distance Sensor measures distance using sound waves that bounce off objects.

Career Connections

Robotics Engineer: Salary $104,600/yr
Automotive Engineer: Salary $95,300/yr
Civil Engineer: Salary $88,050/yr
Electro-Mechanical and Mechtronics Technicians: Salary $60,570/yr

Hardware Diagram

Blueprint

DOWNLOAD BLUEPRINT

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

Troubleshooting Tips

  • Is the Distance Sensor not measuring distance?
    • Pay extra attention to the wiring diagram for this one.
    • Verify all your electrical connections, including that your Pico is connected to your computer.
    • It is common for the connections to be off by 1 or 2 holes. We recommend going through each build to ensure the connections are correct.
    • Don’t worry! One of the wires (NC) does not need to be connected.
  • How does the Distance Sensor work? 
    • The Distance Sensor emits sound waves and measures the time it takes for them to bounce back. Measuring this determines the distance.

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