student showing off how Makey Makey works

Lorenzo Bravo Ortega, a student in Ms. Pineda’s class at Vermont, showing where the Makey Makeys can be connected.

From Circuits to Sound: Musical Coding with Makey Makey

ByAnvi Surapaneni December 3, 2024

The Young Scientist Program (YSP) Special Education (SPED) section proudly reintroduced its computer science curriculum in 2024! This initiative, spearheaded by YSP SPED teaching assistant Anvi Surapaneni and program director Dr. Dieuwertje Kast, was made possible through an AccessComputing minigrant from the University of Washington. The grant funded an innovative two-part lab where students explored computing and coding with Makey Makey STEM kits and MIT’s Scratch programming platform. These interactive lessons were implemented in Ms. Wilt’s and Dr. Ezenwa’s SDC classes at Norwood Street Elementary and Ms. Pineda’s SDC class at Vermont Avenue Elementary.

Makey Makeys serve as external circuit boards that link everyday conductive objects to computer keys. Students used them to connect up, down, right, left arrow keys, and the space bar, enabling hands-on learning as they built their own circuits and turned ordinary materials into functional keys.

In the first session, students constructed aluminum foil keyboards, connected them to Chromebooks via the Makey Makey kits, and explored music using online tools like Makey Makey’s piano and bongos. The second session introduced Scratch programming. Students designed unique beats—recording their own sounds or choosing from Scratch’s library—and coded them to correspond with the arrow keys. By connecting their aluminum foil keys to the Makey Makey boards, students could play their beats and share their creations during class presentations.

Two students working on an experiment — Lorenzo Bravo Ortega and Matthew Ferreyra, students in Ms. Pineda’s class at Vermont, working together to record a new sound to play through Scratch.

Mirta Pineda, an SDC teacher at Vermont Avenue Elementary, reflected on the experience: “The students enjoyed learning how to code, were excited to learn to use the Makey Makey kits, and were thrilled to see how they could control their computers using them. These experiences will motivate my students to want to learn to code and do it as a future profession.”

Across all three classes, students expressed their enthusiasm for the project. Many even requested the Scratch website link to continue their coding journeys at home. This hands-on program demonstrates how creativity, technology, and accessible tools can ignite a passion for STEM in young learners, opening doors to future possibilities.