human body simulations using robots/apps/Makey MaKey/etc

[Laurie Bartels]

Hi Everyone,

I have been mulling over using MaKey MaKey and Scratch to create simulations of human body systems, and just wondering if anyone has done anything like this or might be able to point me towards resources that mesh the two. The tools do not have to be MaKey MaKey and Scratch, but they were the first that came to mind.

Am asking because I may have the opportunity to teach a 5th grade Science unit on human body systems. (Currently, I lead robotics sessions for the entire 5th grade.)

Thanks for any feedback any of you might provide!

Cheers,

Laurie Bartels

LS STEAM Integrator 

Riverdale Country School                                                                           

lbar...@riverdale.edu  

Science•Technology •Engineering•the Arts•Math                                                                         

[Francesca Zammarano]

Laurie, Have you seen this: http://makeymakey.com/guides/operation.php

Best, 

Francesca

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[Diego Fonstad]

Last year we did a unit with the 7th grade biology in joints where they built joints with the component parts of real joints (i.e. first they picked a type: ball and socket, , then they built their assembly choosing and justifying material to mimic cartilage, tendons, and ligaments).  For the muscle we gave the string that they had to attach to their assembly and then control it with a motor connected to an Arduino.  Here's Angi's more detailed blog post of that: http://bournidealab.blogspot.com/2012/11/building-body-joint-7th.html

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[Jaymes Dec]

At CMK last year one of our Marymount science teachers made a tee shirt that had a drawing of the digestive system and makey makey sensors on it. When you touched organs on the shirt a scratch animation would describe the digestive actions that take place in that organ. It was kind of awesome. Check it out. https://vine.co/v/hZmY7PA7n3i

I think she has plans to have the students do something similar this Spring. 

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Jaymes Dec
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[Sylvia]

I was just going to post this! There were two shirts and programs actually, both the digestive system and the circulatory system. They used sewing snaps for the touch points on the shirts, and made a secret inside pocket for the makey makey to sit in so it wouldn't dangle. There were LEDs too, but I don't remember exactly how they got turned on...

Sylvia

[Lindsey Own]

Hi all!  Hrm... I thought I had replied to this earlier today, but it's not showing up... Still figuring out this yet-another-networking-medium!

As my school's resident life sciences nut, I LOVE doing human body systems integration with my 7th graders!  They've been doing animations from energy capture in photosynthesis through energy release in cellular respiration and use by the sarcomeres in the muscles for several years... using Adobe Flash (don't judge).  Ultra fun.  

What's been holding me back from transitioning to hardware / interactive museum exhibit projects has been diffusion... I can think of plenty of ways to use hardware or just physical stuff to show peristalsis, muscle contraction, even photosynthesis, but I can't think of how to do diffusion!  But maybe I just need to throw that problem at the kids...  Having played with digital/physical rube goldberg devices with Jaymes, I can better picture now how I can support my students in implementing a big interactive museum exhibit of the integration of human body systems!

All that said, I think a simpler MakeyMakey / Scratch display sounds like an excellent idea, too!  Another colleague had suggested having the kids use ThingLink to simplify some of the display (we're going to be time-crunched this year), but MakeyMakey / Scratch could get the same job done while also having a physical display!

- Lindsey