5 Fun & Educational Projects to Kickstart Your Micro:bit Journey
Are you ready to dive into your fresh coding and electronics? You’ll be using a micro: bit, its the perfect tool for beginners or if your wanting to make some quick projects. Using a block-based editor like MakeCode or Scratch is the backbone of the micro: bits ease of use!
Whether you’re in a classroom or wanting to start a new hobby, I’ve got 5 simple, quick and fun projects to kickstart your journey and show just how adaptable and powerful the micro: bit can be!
1. The Classic Starter: Your Digital Name Tag
Every great journey begins with a first step, and for the micro: bit, that step is often making it display something. The Digital Name Tag is the perfect introductory project that lets you personalize your device and master the micro: bit’s central feature: the 5×5 LED matrix. You’ll be programming your micro: bit to scroll a custom message (like your name, a fun greeting, or a silly joke) across the screen when you power it on. It’s a great way to show off your new tech in style.
https://makecode.microbit.org/projects/name-tag
2. Fun & Games: Rock, Paper, Scissors
Are you ready to use the micro: bits physical inputs with some programming logic? Rock, Paper, Scissors is an excellent way to turn your little board into a fun and interactive device that you can challenge your friends with.
What It Does: When you shake the micro: bit (using the built-in accelerometer), it randomly selects one of the three options (Rock, Paper, or Scissors) and displays the corresponding symbol on the LED screen. It’s a simple, two-player game that only requires one micro: bit per person.
What You’ll Learn:
- Input Handling: Using the
on shakeblock to trigger an action based on physical movement. - Randomness: Using the
pick randomfunction to ensure fair, unpredictable results. - Conditional Logic (
if/else): Structuring the code to display a specific image based on the random number generated.
https://microbit.org/projects/make-it-code-it/rock-paper-scissors
3. Practical Utility: The Digital Compass and Spirit Level
The micro: bit is more than just a toy; it’s a powerful tool! This project combines two essential functions into one, demonstrating how to extract real-world data from the board’s internal sensors to create a practical, portable utility device. These tools use the magnetometer to act as a digital compass, showing you which way is North (N) as well as the accelerometer to measure the tilt, helping you determine if a surface is perfectly flat or level for the Spirit Level.
What You’ll Learn:
- Input Switching: Using the
on button A pressedor on button B pressed blocks to switch between the two different application modes. - Sensor Data: How to read and interpret data from the Magnetometer (for direction) and the Accelerometer (for movement and tilt).
- Calibration: The compass requires a simple calibration step, teaching the importance of setting up sensors correctly.
Compass: https://makecode.microbit.org/v1/projects/compass
Spirit Level: https://microbit.org/projects/make-it-code-it/spirit-level
4. Wireless Wonders: Secure Messaging
Now it’s time to communicate! One of the micro: bit’s most exciting features is its ability to send and receive messages wirelessly using its built-in radio. This project requires two micro: bits and is a fantastic way to teach networking fundamentals.
What It Does: You’ll set up two micro: bits to act like simple walkie-talkies. Pressing a button on one micro: bit sends a coded message that only the other micro: bit, tuned to the same radio group, can receive and display. It introduces a basic form of secure, short-range wireless communication.
What You’ll Learn:
- Radio Communication: How to set the radio group and use the
radio sendandradio receiveblocks to exchange data. - Networking: The basic concept of devices needing to be on the same “channel” (radio group) to talk to each other.
- Binary Input/Output: Using simple button presses as the input to trigger a more complex wireless message output.
https://www.instructables.com/MicroBit-Puppet-Text-Messaging
https://microbit.org/projects/make-it-code-it/secure-messaging
5. Real-World Application: The Simple Door Alarm
Let’s end our list off with a project that gives the micro: bit a real-world purpose.
To round out our list, let’s create a project that gives the micro: bit a real-world purpose. This simple door alarm uses the board’s sensitivity to motion to protect your belongings, introducing the concept of conditional alerts and external output (sound).
What It Does: When the micro: bit is attached to a door, a drawer, or a piggy bank, it uses its built-in accelerometer to constantly monitor its movement. If the door is suddenly opened (causing a significant change in movement/acceleration), the alarm is triggered, and a loud, annoying sound plays through the small onboard speaker.
What You’ll Learn:
- Security & Conditional Logic: Programming the device to wait for a specific condition (movement) before taking an action (making noise).
- Advanced Sensor Use: Instead of just measuring tilt (like the level), this uses the accelerometer to detect sudden, forceful changes in movement.
- Alerts and Outputs: Using the built-in speaker/buzzer to generate a sound alarm, providing an audible response to a condition.
https://microbit.org/projects/make-it-code-it/simple-door-alarm
As you can see, the micro: bit is an incredibly versatile and powerful tool, proving that great things truly do come in small packages. From making simple games and digital name tags to crafting practical tools like a compass and even a simple security alarm, these five projects offer a solid foundation in coding, electronics, and real-world problem-solving. We encourage you to try one, or even all, of these projects! Don’t be afraid to tweak the code, add your own creative flair, and challenge yourself to build something new. What will you create with your micro: bit next?
Tell us about your projects or edits you did in the comments below or post them online with #pishopsa we’d love to see what you get up to!
