#EvilMakeybook and Marble Mazes
Last year Aaron and I wrote 20 Makey Makey Projects for the Evil Genius. We had so much fun creating all of the projects and finding interesting and whimsical ways to incorporate cardboard low-tech making with Scratch coding and mashing it all together with Makey Makey.
As we wrote the projects, we didn’t really envision it as a book for teachers to use with classes, but this fall, I noticed a tweet from Anne Smith. She created a whole lesson around the engineering design process and our marble maze Makey Makey project! Check out her lesson here.
This gave me the idea to see if my 5th grade team at Mason would be interested in having their students design Makey Makey mazes…..and the answer was YES!
Early this spring, each 5th grade class spent a week in the library learning about Scratch, Makey Makey, and creating marble mazes out of recyclables.
Overview of Week Long Lesson
Day One: Students either created a Makey Makey alarm with Scratch or worked on creating a DIY switch with paper and foil. I changed the lesson up for classes depending on how much Scratch or Makey Makey experience they had.
(Note: the pencil alarm in the video below was designed because a kid in their class actually steals pencils….)
Day Two/Three: Students designed mazes on paper and then began designing a maze with recyclables. The first class stuck to building with straws and made insanely awesome Scratch tricks. The next few classes got more and more inventive with the physical aspects of the maze.
Day Three/Four: On the third day, I taught a mini lesson on creating a roll over switch with foil and a marble. Then I handed out materials for students to begin creating interactive switches Scratch and Makey Makey.
On day four, students were told to get there maze to a finished point and problem solve any Makey Makey interactions by the end of class. Check out this cool trick one of the group of girls figured out:
Day Five: Students had 20 minutes for last minute tweaks and then they were able to share their projects Makerfest style! We invited other classes to come in and play mazes. Students loved sharing their work with others and inspiring the next class to become more and more inventive in their maze making.
Check out all the of their awesome work below:
Making is messy
Just a friendly reminder that everyday was a mess. Make sure you include time for clean up and have the students be a part of the clean up process! Some classes are better about cleaning than others, but it’s an important aspect of life. Making a mess when making is normal, but students need to learn to clean up after. 🙂
Check out other schools making Makey Makey marble mazes!
One of the best things about writing books and sharing projects online is seeing other classes in other states trying out the same project. Check out these other schools makey-makeying mazes!
Create, Collaborate, Innovate 
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