It’s Friday and it’s December, which means that it’s time for another “Gifts for the Gifted” post!
I have posted about MaKey MaKey a few times, but I was surprised to look back and see that it didn’t make my Gifts for the Gifted series last year. This actually makes sense because I hadn’t used one yet at this time last year. Now that I’ve had a bit of experience with it and watched some of my students use it, I can definitely recommend it as a great gift.
You will need a computer with a USB port in order to use the MaKey MaKey. But the rest is up to your imagination. It looks intimidating, but the directions are a snap (I let my students hook it up and they had no problems).
I have a detailed description in this post. Basically, you can use anything that conducts electricity (including your tongue or your own skin) to power the MaKey MaKey. The most popular demonstrations use bananas. If you’re a bit stumped for other ideas, I’ve collected a few here to get your creative juices flowing. (Links updated on 10/27/2021)
- Eat Your Lunch While Simultaneously Playing the Star-Spangled Banner
- Create Musical Paintings with Conductive Paint
- Create Musical Instruments with Cardboard and Conductive Tape
- Design a Video Game Controller
- Musical Plants
- Play Whack-a-Potato (these kids are adorable!)
- Fruity Jokes with Makey Makey
- Make Good Use of Your Wet Socks
- Play the Pumpkin Drums
- Play the Planets
- Go Fishing
- Orchestrate Your Ornaments
Granted, some of these are a bit complicated – but even showing the videos to your child or students should help them to think of even more ideas!
There are a lot of places to purchase MaKey MaKey, such as Amazon, MakerShed, Best Buy, and the MaKey MaKey website. It’s usually around $50.
For more ideas for creative gifts for children, you may want to visit my Pinterest Board or check out my previous posts from this year: Osmo, Circuit Stickers, Shell Game, and 3Doodler.
