Introduction: Micro:bit Diorama

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About: Dreamer, maker, artist.

The Micro:bit is a very friendly microcontroller to introduce your students not just to coding but to all sorts of STEAM projects. 

In this Instructable, I will talk about using the MakeyBit Adventure Board, which expands the Micro:bit's functionality, to create robotic dioramas. These dioramas can be either integrated into the curriculum in the form of biography presentations, book reports, About Me projects, etc. or made as fun self-expression projects with students choosing things like their favorite movie scenes to represent.

Students will create their scene or diorama and bring it to life using a Micro:Bit, the Makeybit, motors, lights, and/or other components that they’ll code. The technology used in this Instructable is low floor high ceiling so it can be used with different age groups and reused for different lessons/projects.

Although nowadays I am primarily a maker, I also teach STEAM after-school and summer camp classes to students ages 10-14 in Washington State. In a previous position as an Ed Tech Specialist at an Elementary School, my main job was to help teachers find ways to make their lessons more engaging by adding technology elements to them and it is something that is still in the forefront of my mind. 

The Micro:bit is my go-to tool for teaching and making and I’ve used lots of different expansion and add-on boards for it. When I was first introduced to the MakeyBit, my first thought was how it could be used in the classroom to spice up the curriculum. The size and form factor make it perfect for integrating into robotic dioramas. By creating costumes/skins for the board, it can be easily transformed into a famous person, a book character, a self-portrait, etc. Its proportions also add a certain silliness that makes it more approachable.

This Instructable assumes some familiarity with the Micro:bit. I will talk about MakeyBit specifics, some character and diorama design tips, and some basic coding with the Makecode.org website.

Disclaimer: I have created several MakeyBit projects for Make:, and you can find several of the costumes/projects I’ve created for the MakeyBit on their Makershed website, but this Instructable is not sponsored by them and the project ideas and experiences teaching with the MakeyBit in the classroom are my own.





Supplies

Some of the materials are for the whole classroom and the amount necessary will depend on how many students you have. I’ll specify when the materials listed are per student/team. The maximum amount of students per team should be 3 students for best results. 

For the crafting part

  • 1 cardboard box per student/team. At least 20” wide x 12” deep x 20” tall. Since they will be open in the front to show the diorama, I recommend gathering boxes from Costco or any other retailer that uses a lot of boxes that are the same size. They are free and they add an extra “reduce, reuse, recycle” component to the project. I prefer dark-colored boxes since they allow the project to stand out more.
  • Extra cardboard
  • Optional: packaging cardboard. The kind that has a honeycomb pattern inside and it’s extra thick. It is great for quickly adding spacers to your project.
  • Assortment of art materials like markers, colored pencils, glue sticks, etc. (I try to minimize or eliminate the use of paint because of the drying time and the proximity to the electronics)
  • Colored paper in different sizes. 
  • Cutting tools for cardboard and paper (Scissors, cardboard sheers, canary cutters, box cutters, or whatever you are comfortable having students use)
  • Exacto knife and cutting mat to cut the holes on the paper templates.
  • Hot glue gun and sticks.
  • Assorted crafting materials (eg. popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, thread, brads, flexible wire, etc)
  • MakeyBit blank template printouts. I recommend printing them on thicker paper. (https://makershed.make.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/01/makey_bit_blank_template.pdf)
  • Optional: LED tracing board to trace the templates instead of painting the costumes directly on the printouts.

For the electronics part:

 Optional

Step 1: Introduction to the Micro:Bit and the MakeyBit

This step is an overview of the Micro:Bit, the MakeyBit, and some of the components we'll be using. I try not to give students this "info dump" and instead give them the information as they are working on the project, but this is so teachers can familiarize themselves with the boards.

The Micro:Bit looks deceptively simple, but it is the brains of the operation. If you have brand new Micro:Bits, when students plug them into the computer with the USB cords the Micro:bits will start the default “Out of Box Experience” program (or “Meet the Microbit” if they have the most recent version) that comes preinstalled into the board. If the Micro:bits have been used already and don’t have that default program, you can always download that code here. 

This program just takes them on a tour of some of the features of the Micro:bit. They’ll get to learn that there are buttons they can use, sound sensors, a speaker, and an array of red LEDs, among other things.

You can insert the Micro:bit into the MakeyBit in the front slot of the “robot”. The LEDs of the Microbit should face forward and the metallic stripes (or pins) face down. It requires more strength than you’d think to insert it, but if it is connected correctly, you will barely see the pin connections of the board and it won’t look crooked.

The MakeyBit expands the functionality of the Micro:Bit by making it easier to connect motors, lights, etc. And the integrated battery pack makes the projects more mobile. 

When the Micro:bit is connected to a computer through a USB cord, it receives some power that way, but it is not enough to power the servo motors correctly. A common mistake students make is to not turn on the power switch on the back of the MakeyBit that allows the batteries to power the boards.

The motors that the MakeyBit uses are micro servos and it can (easily) use a total of two servos. They can be either regular position servos, continuous rotation servos, or one of each. 

The regular position servos can move to different angles between 0-180º. These servos will be the most commonly used motors for the student projects. They can make characters or props move from side to side. 

The continuous rotation servos, as the name implies, move continuously. They are commonly used for powering wheels, but making buggies is beyond the scope of this project. For dioramas they are more commonly used for pulleys or when the movement of the prop or character needs to rotate more than 180º. But you can’t use precise angles with this motor as you can only control how long it moves, not to where.

The MakeyBit cannot move by itself and you may have noticed that its arms are solidly by its side. But there are other ways to add movement to the scenes. One of the easiest ways is to prop the MakeyBit so it can be moved by the motor, but the MakeyBit can be heavy once you insert the batteries and the little servos are not very strong. 

Another way to add movement is to have different characters or props be the ones moving. You can create additional characters with the same MakeyBit skin templates and mount those on cardboard. They will match the style of the MakeyBit, but you can then mount them onto the servos and have bigger movements. You can also cut their arms and mount motors behind the character and glue/tape the arms to the servo horns so they can move. 

Props can move in different ways, but take into account weight. The little servos can’t handle too much weight. 

Step 2: Dioramas

A diorama is defined as a model representing a scene with three-dimensional figures, either in miniature or as a large-scale museum exhibit.

Our diorama will use a box that is open at least on one side (the front) of the diorama. It will have at least one character, several background elements, and props, and use at least one servo motor. It can also have lights and basic sounds. Students will then code the electronics using the Makecode.org website. In this Instructable I will not be talking about using sensors, as they were not part of my lesson with this project.

As a teacher, you will have to decide what the diorama will be about. Will it tie to the curriculum and be a biography presentation? How about a book report? You could also have students do an About Me project. Or a fun movie scene.

As students do research, read books, or make plans, the most important questions are:

  • What is the diorama about?
  • Who is the main character?
  • What makes the main character special and how can you represent that?
  • Are there any supporting characters? (I recommend a maximum of 3 characters)
  • Are there photos or descriptions of the character(s)?
  • Where does the scene take place?
  • Are there background elements that will make the scene more readable?
  • What kind of action could be taking place in the scene?

As an example, I'll answer these questions for two of the projects I am using as samples:

Project 1

  • What is the diorama about? A climatic scene from the Return of the Jedi.
  • Who is the main character? Luke Skywalker
  • What makes the main character special and how can you represent that? He uses a lightsaber and fights the empire. I can add a lightsaber.
  • Are there any supporting characters? (I recommend a maximum of 3 characters) The Emperor and Darth Vader
  • Are there photos or descriptions of the character(s)? Yes, there are lots of photo references available and I have gathered them.
  • Where does the scene take place? Inside the Death Star in the Emperor's Throne Room
  • What kind of action could be taking place in the scene? An awesome lightsaber battle while the Emperor watches and (literally) controls everything.
  • Are there background elements that will make the scene more readable? Based on the photos I've gathered, you can see the throne is at a higher level than where Luke and Darth Vader fight. The window behind the throne is very distinctive.


Project 2

  • What is the diorama about? One of Jane Goodall's biography highlights
  • Who is the main character? Jane Goodall
  • What makes the main character special and how can you represent that? She is a researcher, so she could have a notebook and binoculars for observing her research subjects - Chimpanzees.
  • Are there any supporting characters? (I recommend a maximum of 3 characters) Chimpanzees. One in particular gets mentioned, David Greybeard.
  • Are there photos or descriptions of the character(s)? Yes, there are photos of her and some of the chimpanzees.
  • Where does the scene take place? In the wild at the place where she's doing research.
  • What kind of action could be taking place in the scene? David Greybeard fishes for termites and the little chimps are playful as Jane observes them.
  • Are there background elements that will make the scene more readable? There is a mention in her biography that she's standing on higher ground and using binoculars as she watches a chimpanzee fishing for termites. So the higher ground and the termite mound would be best.



Step 3: Planning the Project

This is a student-led project. They will be making all the decisions about what they want and how they want it to work. Frustrations are not only ok but to be expected. Some headaches can be avoided if they make some plans before starting.

Which characters do they want to include in their scene? What kind of movement will there be (remember there are only 2 motors)? Will the characters be moving? Who will be controlling everything? What other components (lights, sounds) are necessary? What kinds of things could work well for the background?

Even if they don't know how to do everything they might want, by putting it on paper they can at least have some sense of direction.


Step 4: Designing the Characters

To design the characters, you need the MakeyBit blank template. You can draw on top of it or trace the template into a new piece of paper. The template should be printed or traced on thicker paper and without scaling it.

For best results, find a good photo of your character or take notes of their description, if no photos are available. Do your best with the likeness. It's a MakeyBit. It's silly. The likeness will never be perfect.

As mentioned before, the MakeyBit itself cannot move. Its arms are stuck on its side. But that doesn’t mean you can’t add movement to the characters. If you have more than one character, you can have one controlling everything and the other can be moving around. Or even move the whole Makeybit with the motors, but that has to be done with care as it is heavy once you add the batteries.

For my Jane Goodall project, I designed her outfit based on research I made, and then I made the extra characters (chimpanzees) using the same template, except the eyes in my case were planned to have LEDs. You can have the eyes just painted on. Since I wanted David Greybeard to fish for termites, I knew I wanted his arm to move. I used brads to connect pieces of his arm to his body. The movement comes from the end of the stick he uses. That is what is connected to the motor. The motors in the scene are connected to Jane Goodall but the cords are hidden with the background elements.

In this student project, inspired by a scene from Ironman 2, you can see Ironman is the MakeyBit that holds the Micro:bit. Whiplash was created using the MakeyBit template and glued onto cardboard, but his arms were cut and mounted onto servos that are glued to his back. The servos are controlled by the Ironman MakeyBit.

The last video is another student project, based on Harry Potter, where the student chose not to have the MakeyBit in the scene. He wanted to be able to control the feather from the back, and that is also ok. He used the same template to design Harry.



Step 5: Designing the Background

Some important things to consider about the background is where the characters and the motors are going to be mounted. If you want the motors to be hidden, you might want a raised floor so the servos can go underneath the floor. You can also hide the motors behind props.

Step 6: Makecode

All the coding will be done on the Makecode website (https://makecode.microbit.org/)

If the information below does not answer your questions, the website has wonderful tours and resources that you and your students can use.

Downloading the code needs to happen every time students make any changes. They will forget. The website guides you on how to download once you press the big blue download button.

Step 7: Coding Motors on Makecode

To code the motors, first take note of where you are connecting them to the MakeyBit. The top connection is P2 and the bottom is P0. On Makecode, add the servo extension to access all the blocks that make coding the servos easier.

In my opinion, it is better to have all the action of the diorama play when you press a button, either A or B, instead of playing "forever". It makes it easier to troubleshoot, display, and control.

If the Position servo is moving the right amount, but not in the position you wanted, you can disconnect the servo "horn" and place it in the position you want.

For the Continuous Rotation servos, you can control the speed and the amount of time they move. The speed goes from -100 - 0% in one direction and from 0 - 100% in the other direction. The amount of time needed to move pulleys is a bit of trial and error.

Step 8: Adding Sounds

The Micro:bit has a small speaker that can be used to add simple sounds to projects. 

The very first step to coding sounds when using the MakeyBit, is to add a block that changes the Pin for the sound output. By default, the Micro:bit uses P0, which the Makeybit uses for servos. If you do not change the default pin, you will get all sorts of (sometimes hilarious but still wrong) glitches.

Coding and testing sounds is one of the favorite parts for students, so I will not talk much about them.

Step 9: Coding Neopixel Eyes

Neopixels are special LEDs that can be coded to change to any color you want. The beauty of Neopixels is that you can have a whole string of lights (30 max for Micro:bit) and you do not need to use more than one Pin to code them. 

The MakeyBit comes with two Neopixel lights set as its eyes and they are connected to Pin 16. You can code those to achieve different effects. The simplest things you can do are: to choose a color to show and turn them on, and then turn them off. 

The first you need to do is add the NeoPixel extension by going to Extensions>Neopixel. That will give you the blocks necessary to code the Neopixels. You'll get two "pages" of blocks. In my sample code, you set up the strip (eyes) "On Start", then when A is pressed they turn on showing the color red. If B is pressed, they turn off. As I mentioned in the slide if the block says "show" then the changes show without any additional code. But if they don't say "show" (for example, if they say "set") you need to add a "show" block afterward so the change takes place.

Step 10: Presenting the Project

Once students finish their projects, it is time to present to their peers or an external audience like their parents. They can talk about why they chose the elements of their project and show it in action. What did they struggle with? What was their favorite part?

Step 11: Extras

If you want to look at the code for the Star Wars project, you can look at it here.

If you want to look at the code for the Jane Goodall project, click here.

The video with the speeder bikes uses two MakeyBits so it can run 4 motors, so it is not a good example for the project, but still an interesting thing to show if you want.

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