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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


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Design expedition

Mission 1 of 2

Design expedition: Mission 1 of 2

Light Show


Beginner

1 hour

Grades 3 - 8

MISSION OBJECTIVE

Learn how to use an 8x8 LED matrix to create 64-bit artwork, designs, and messages to display and share while understanding pixels and bits.

Now it’s your turn! Piperbot and Pip have stumbled across an LED billboard and are up to trouble trying to flash their faces on it. You will use code to create multicolored art on their 8x8 LED matrices and explore light as a medium for their designs.

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
Piper Make Light Show

MISSION RESOURCES

Learning Goals

  1. Students will understand how technology is reshaping the world of art.  
  2. Students will gain an understanding of RGB LEDs, what they are, and what they do. 
  3. Students will reinforce their knowledge about RGB (Red, Blue, Green) values and how they describe colors. 
  4. Students will learn what is a pixel and what is a bit as it relates to graphics. 
  5. Students will learn that a binary has two possible numbers, 1 or 0. 

Learning Activities

The following sections will contain step by step instructions for ELA, ELD and Math extensions directly related to this mission. Adjust the directions to fit your ELA, ELD and Math standards.

ELA Extension: Video Game Advancements

Start by watching this video with the students about the history of video games: A brief history of video games (Part I) - Safwat Saleem  

  • Ask students to describe the differences between two video games from different eras. Use one example from an original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) game, such as the original Mario Bros, and one from a currently popular online game. 
  • Create a list of the video games students compare on the board or a digital whiteboard. 
  • Next, ask them to focus on the game's appearance and consider why the two look so different.  
  • Have students look up, discuss, and cite information on pixels and how they affect the quality of graphics.  
  • They will then work in pairs to make a short presentation comparing two games from two eras - 80s/90s vs. a game released in the last eight years. 

ELD Extension: Color Chef Students will become color chefs and start cooking up different colors.

  • The link below contains a tool from PBS Learning that allows students to adjust the levels of red, blue, and green colors to see how changing the intensity level of each color creates new colors. Visit the URL below and have the students create a unique color by blending red, blue, and green. https://contrib.pbslearningmedia.org/WGBH/buac20/buac20-int-rgbcoloradd/index.html  
  • Have students record their color formulas in a notebook or on a sheet of paper. For example, if you eliminate Green and only Red and Blue remain, the resulting color is pink.  
  • Start a timer of 7-10 minutes and have students create a physical or digital journal. In this journal, they will record their recipes for each color discovered. When they find a different shade of green than they already have, instruct them to give it a more descriptive name, such as light green, dark green, yellow-green, etc.  
  • Then, using Flipgrid, have them record a “cooking lesson” on creating some of their discovered colors. Instruct them to use the stickers and filters included in Flipgrid so that they look more like a chef and it a cooking show.  

Math Extension: Pixels and Bits Start by displaying an image of the original Nintendo Entertainment System and then an image from a game such as the original Mario Bros.

  • Ask the students how many colors they see and then guess how many colors they believe the system can display simultaneously. Note that the original Nintendo had 8-bit graphics and then upgraded to Super Nintendo with 16-bit graphics.  
  • First, let’s review the difference between 2x2 vs. 22 to ensure students understand that the x, or *, is used for multiplication, but an exponent is the base number (larger written number) times itself, dependent on the exponent.  
  • Work with students to solve 23 , 24 then leave the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th up to them and have them work in pairs to solve.  
  • Leave students with a challenge question to take home by displaying the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Explain that this is a 16-bit system and that they must solve how many colors it can display.  

Career Connections

Demonstrator and Product Promoter: Salary $34,770/yr
Marketing Manager: Salary $140,040/yr
Fashion Designer: Salary $76,700/yr
Web and Digital Interface Designer: Salary $83,240/yr

Hardware Diagram

Blueprint

DOWNLOAD BLUEPRINT

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

Troubleshooting Tips

  • Do you have fewer Jumper Wires of the same color than is presented in the diagram?
    • This is okay. Jumper Wires can all be used interchangeably.
  • How do I change the color of the pixels?
    • To change the colors on your Light Show LED Matrix Board, click above or below the text on the pixel grid block, and the color choices will appear.
  • Is the Start button not green?
    • Be sure your Pico is connected.

Our customer support specialists are on hand to ensure your implementation of Piper runs seamlessly.
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Design EXPEDITION RESOURCES

Vocabulary Words

Pixel a shortened form of “picture element”, one of the many tiny dots that make up the representation of a picture in a computer's memory (resolution is the number of pixels)

Color Depth The amount of color used in computer graphics, usually measured in bits per pixel.

Medium The materials used in creating a piece of artwork such as paint, marble, clay, or pastels.

Graphic User Interface (GUI) A way to display information on the computer screen where the user can use a mouse to click on buttons to do things.

Animation The manipulation of figures that make images look like they are moving.

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