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December 20, 2006 Fun Learning With Twist-ems, Soda Straws And Computers PicoCricket Kit (www.picocricket.com, $250) offers children (and adults too) a chance to express their artistic creativeness, learn some simple computer programing and have a barrel of fun doing it. At first glance the kit looks like a colorful arts and crafts set, but when you see the bundle of electric wires and gizmos, you know it’s going to be different.
The emphasis is on play, which is what you do as you make fun things and bring them to life. But there’s also learning along with the play using the included tiny computer, the PicoCricket. Yes, you have to program the PicoCricket, but that’s where the fun learning comes in, and it’s easy, really. The tiny (2.5 x 1.5 x 1.25 inch) battery-powered computer has four combo input/output ports that accept sensor inputs and provide action outputs, all directed by your programing. The input sensors are for light, sound, touch and resistance. The output devices include two multi-colored lights, a sound box, a numeric display and a Lego motor. There’s also a Beamer, which connects to your computer’s USB port and is used for wirelessly communicating with the PicoCricket. Two PicoCrickets can beam to each other as well. You can attach the computer, Beamer, sensors and output modules in various ways to your creations. There are Lego sockets on the bottom for attaching to other Lego blocks and little ears on their sides for tying them in place.
The kit is not all electronic parts: it’s also filled with a colorful assortment of fuzzy balls, felt pieces, bells, glittery pipe cleaners, roll-a-round stick-on eyes, colored popsicle sticks and more--all waiting to be glued, twisted and strung together to create whatever you can imagine. There’s also an assortment of Lego blocks, wheels, pulleys and a Lego motor, all of which can be used to provide the basis for many creative playthings. You are encouraged to use other household items as well, such as straws, paper cups, oatmeal cartons and such. If something doesn’t look or work just right, take it apart and try again a little differently, maybe even do some tweaking of your PicoCricket’s program. Programming is done on your computer and beamed to the PicoCricket. This programing is made easy with the use of Pico Blocks, a graphical representation of the programing language.
These blocks are displayed on your computer screen and are color coded by function. Blocks can represent simple commands such as "motor on" or "loud?" or "wait for 10 sec" or more complex commands such as "if xxxx, then yyyy; else zzzz," where the x,y,z represent sensor input and/or action commands. The blocks fit together to form a program stack, so it’s easy to see the program flow and easier yet to make changes simply by dragging the blocks around. You can also "go under the hood" of the programming blocks and create blocks of your own using the included script programming language that’s similar to the Logo language. The kit includes four two-sided, colorfully illustrated "place mats" filled with design ideas, complete with programing hints and many suggested variations. For example, one place mat has suggestions for a birthday cake (non-edible) that has lights that go out when you blow on them, followed by a tune (happy birthday, of course) and the throwing of confetti. The cake can be made of cardboard, with drawn-on decorations and fuzz balls for frosting, and the sound sensor hidden on the top. The candles are straws attached to the lights, and confetti sits on a plate attached to the motor. Your programming stream for this creation could go like this: turn lights on; wait for sound; when sound is heard (blowing on candles), turn lights off, play the tune and spin the motor. Wheeeee! Also included are 24 sounds, such as a kitten meowing or dog barking. A melody editor lets you record your own simple tunes such as Happy Birthday or Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and lets you choose voice, tempo and volume appropriate to the tune. You can also record rhythms and save these and the tunes; they all become program blocks to be used wherever you want.
Using the resistance input sensor and numeric display output you can measure your own skin resistance or the resistance of a pickle. Or, better yet, use the input from the resistance to control the "Note" programming block to change pitch as you slide wires (and change resistance) along the pickle or use the light sensor to change pitch, varying the light falling on the sensor with your hand. Or sing a song or clap your hands and make a pipe cleaner sculpture dance, or have a flower open up when the sun rises. These are a few of the many play combinations available, all waiting to be created by the child (or child in you). PicoCricket Kit is based on years of research at the MIT Media Lab and their Lifelong Kindergarten Lab. Although designed for children ages 8 and up, many adults will find it every bit as appealing as any youngster. We found the Kit sparking lots of trial-and-error learning, a bit of programming and a whole lot of fun. |
