Makey Makey Classic by JoyLabz

You may be the greatest living banana pianist, but how will you ever know if you don't make yourself a banana piano? Good news! That project, and countless others, are easier than you think with the Makey Makey Classic.

The Makey Makey Classic by JoyLabz is an invention kit for everyone. It's a simple tool that tricks your computer into thinking that almost anything is a keyboard or mouse. This allows you to hook up all kinds of fun and conductive things as an input. Want to play Mario with a Play-Doh keyboard? Or play a piano with fruit? Or make a game controller out of graphite pencil drawings? Now you can.

How Does Makey Makey Work?

The Makey Makey is a simple circuit board that you connect to your computer via a USB cable, and it works by "closing a circuit." You connect one alligator clip to an object (like a banana) and another alligator clip to yourself (or hold the board's ground bar). When you touch the banana, your body completes the circuit, and the Makey Makey sends a pre-programmed keyboard key (like the space bar) or a mouse click to your computer.

No drivers, no programming, no software installation. It's pure plug-and-play.

The "Magic" of High Resistance

The Makey Makey uses high-resistance switching to detect your connection, even through materials that aren't very conductive (like leaves, pasta, or people). This extreme sensitivity is what allows for such creative and "magical" interactions with the world around you.

Connections & Inputs

The board is designed for easy and expandable projects:

• Front Inputs: Features six main inputs (Up, Down, Left, Right, Space, and Click) on the front of the board. These are easily accessible with the included alligator clips.
• Back Inputs: For more advanced projects, the back of the board features an additional 12 inputs, accessible via female headers. You can use standard jumpers (sold separately) to access six additional keyboard keys (W, A, S, D, F, G) and six mouse motion controls (Up, Down, Left, Right, Left Click, Right Click).

Makey Makey Classic is a versatile invention kit for both beginners and experts in art, engineering, and everything in between.

• Hookup Guide
• Makey Makey Setup
• Instructables Teachers Projects