Microbit Sensors & Circuits
Beginner
60 mins
Teacher/Student led
170 points
What you need:
Chromebook/Laptop/PC
Microbit
LED Strip with crocodile clips

LED Strip Clapper

In this step-by-step lesson, you'll create a Microbit project, add the neopixel extension, and set up an LED strip. You'll create an 'on' variable, learn to detect a clap, and code the LED strip to turn on and off accordingly. Finally, you'll download your code, test it, and explore further improvements.
Learning Goals Learning Outcomes Teacher Notes Lesson Files

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    1 - Create a new Microbit project

    To get started create a new Microbit project.

    makecode.microbit.org

    2 - Add the neopixel extension

    To access the blocks we need to program the LED strip, you need to add the neopixel extension to your project.


    3 - Setup the LED Strip

    To be able to interact and program the LED strip we will need a variable that stores the strip.

    Add the following code to your project. We set the value to be 30 as there are 30 LEDs on the strip.

    4 - Create an 'on' variable

    We will need a variable called 'on' to store whether the lights should be in the on state (on = true) or the off state (on = false).

    Create a variable called on and set it to be false at the start.

    5 - Detect a clap

    We will use the on [loud] sound block to detect when you clap.

    When a clap is detected:

    • If on equals false, then we will turn on the light
    • Else on must equal true so we will turn off the light

    Add the following code to set the on variable to be true and light up the LED strip a colour.


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