The BBC Micro:bit is a fantastic low cost little board for introducing children to computer hardware and programming. Similar in some functionality to a Raspberry Pi and Arudino, it makes adding hardware fairly simple.
However, while going through some exercises with my son, we found we were spending a lot of time working out how to drive hardware, lots of debugging and he generally got bored when after an hour we did not have a lot to show from it. The following pages are my notes as I have learned how various hardware works and code samples ready for him to cut and paste to put together fun projects. The majority of the code is Micropython and hardware sourced from the Elegoo 37 in 1 sensor kit.
The basic micro:bit has 3 accessible IO pins with crocodile clips, Vcc and GND, limiting what hardware can be connected. However with a IO breakout board and a breadboard, you can access all 20 IO pins with ease. A number of models are available, we have used the one from ElecFreaks, which is available from a number of UK based stockists such as CoolComponents.
To Do:
- Ultra sonic module
- Active and passive buzzers
- Soil moisture sensor
- Temperature: DHT11 & BME280
- Stepper motor