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littleBits Workshop

Guide

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littleBits Workshop

Guide

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Table of Contents

littleBits Workshop 101 1

How to Plan a littleBits Workshop 2

How to Give a littleBits Demo 4

Sample littleBits Circuits 5

How Do I Know What Bits to Buy? 6

What Project Should I Make? 7

What is a Project Template? 8

Materials Shopping List 10

Project Tips & Tricks 11

Share Your Workshops! 12

Contact 13

Safety 14

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1

littleBits Workshop 101What does a littleBits workshop involve?

Basically ve parts:

1 Demonstrate

First, an educator gives a briefdemonstration of how littleBits work(see page 4)

2 Brainstorm

Then, students brainstorm an idea for aproject to make with littleBits and sketch apicture of it. Encourage them to thinkabout what Bits they would like to use in

their project. The project can be pre-determined by the educator.

3 Build Circuits

Students snap the Bits together to buildthe circuit for their project .

4 Build Projects

Students build the project they sketchedand integrate the Bits.

5 Share!

Students share what they made! Be sureto take photos and video. You can sharecreations on our website in the projectgallery: littlebits.com/projects

In this guide, we will show you how to give aneffective littleBits demo and how to plan asuccessful littleBits workshop!

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2

How To Plan a littleBits WorkshopStep 1 Choose your age group.

8-10, 11-13, or 14 to innity?

Step 2 Refer to the tables below accordingto your age group.

Step 3 Choose how long your class orworkshop will be and refer to thesuggestions on that row.

These recommendations are based on littleBitsworkshops we have held in the past. Feel freeto experiment and do things differently! Keep

in mind that the more students you have, themore time you need for “sharing time”.

Recommendations or Ages 8-10

 

Time Content Schedule Supplies Tools

30 min A basic demo ofhow Bits work plusexperimentationwith craft materials

10 min demo10 min play with Bits10 mins experiment withcraft materials

Craft supplies,see page 10 fordetails.

Scissors

1 hr A basic demo ofhow Bits work pluscompletion of asmall project

10 min demo10 project brainstorm30 min build project10 min share projects

Predeterminedproject with pre-made templates.For info ontemplates, see

page 8.

Scissors

Recommendations or Ages 11-13

 

Time Content Schedule Supplies Tools

30 min A basic demo ofhow Bits work plusexperimentationwith craft materials

5 min demo10 min play with Bits15 mins experiment with

craft materials

Craft supplies,see page 10 fordetails.

Scissors,hot glue gun

1 hr A basic demo ofhow Bits work pluscompletion of asmall project

5 min demo10 project brainstorm35 min build project10 min share projects

Students use craftmaterials to buildtheir own projectsfrom scratch

Scissors,hot glue gun

2 hr A basic demo ofhow Bits work pluscompletion of asmall project

10 min demo30 project brainstorm70 min build project10 min share projects

Students use craftmaterials to buildtheir own projectsfrom scratch

Scissors,hot glue gun

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Recommendations or Ages 14 to infnity

 

Time Content Schedule Supplies Tools

30 min A basic demo ofhow Bits work plusexperimentationwith craft materials

5 min demo10 min play with Bits15 mins experiment with

craft materials

Craft supplies,see page 10

Scissors, X-actoknife, scissors, hotglue gun

1 hr A basic demo ofhow Bits work pluscompletion of asmall project

5 min demo10 project brainstorm35 min build project10 min share projects

Students use craftmaterials to buildtheir projects(templates opt’l)

Scissors, X-actoknife, scissors, hotglue gun

2 hr A basic demo of

how Bits work pluscompletion of aproject

10 min demo

30 min brainstorm70 min build project10 min share projects

Students use

materials to buildtheir own projectsfrom scratch

More advanced

tools like a lasercutter, 3D printer,and power tools

3 hr A basic demo ofhow Bits work pluscompletion of acomplex project

10 min demo1 hr brainstorm, sketching100 min build project10 min share projects

Students usematerials to buildtheir own projectsfrom scratch

More advancedtools like a lasercutter, 3D printer,and power tools

4 hr A basic demo ofhow Bits work pluscompletion of a

complex project

10 min demo1 hr brainstorm, sketching3 hrs build project

10 min share projects

Students usematerials to buildtheir own projects

from scratch

More advancedtools like a lasercutter, 3D printer,

and power tools

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4

How To Give a littleBits Demo

Step 2: Add green output Bit

Next, give each student a green output Bit. Tell themto snap it to the blue power Bit. Students will gureout quickly which way the Bits snap together. TheBits only correctly snap together one way. Oncesnapped, their green outputs should turn on.

This is the most basic concept:power + output = something happens!

Step 1: Start with blue power Bit

Give each student a blue power Bit and turn it on. Say something like, “Every circuit needs a blue 

power Bit. It provides the electricity for the circuit 

we are going to build ”.

A red light will indicate that the power is on. If youdo not see a red light, you may need to replace yourbattery or charge your coin battery with a microusb cable. If you are using the usb power, then eachstudent will need a computer or usb power outlet.

Step 3: Introduce pink input Bit

Now give each student a pink input Bit.Say something like, “The pink Bits talk to the green 

Bits and tell them what to do. The pink Bits go after 

blue Bits and before green Bits.”

Depending on which input Bit they have, the pink Bitwill “tell a different story ” to the green Bits. In mostcases, the student has to do something to the pink Bitto make the green Bit turn on.

Step 4: Discover

Let the students explore the Bits! It’s always great tolet students discover for themselves what each Bitdoes. This way they may get their own ideas on whatproject they would like to make.

switch it

off 

on

squeeze it

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5

Sample littleBits CircuitsHere are some examples of fun circuits to demo:

1 Colored Dimmer = power + dimmer + rgb led

2 Strength Meter = power + pressure sensor + bargraph

3 Tickle Machine = power + pulse + wire + vibration motor

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How Do I Know What Bits to Buy?

Educators are eligible for an educationaldiscount account! Please contact ourEducation Account Manager, Tara Noftsier,at education@littleBits.cc for more info.

When purchasing Bits you can either:

1 Buy Kits: Starter Kit, Extended Kits,

or Holiday Kits (Teaser Kit is too small)

or

2 Buy loose Bits in bulk. To see all Bitsavailable, visit our online store 

Important things to know:

1 Each Kit only comes with 1 power Bit.

If you want each student to make his orher own individual project, each studentwill need a power Bit. If studentsare working in groups we recommend 2students share 1 Kit.

2 How many Bits does each student need?

The simplest circuit to make a projectinvolves: 1 blue power Bit, 1 pink input Bit,1 green output Bit, and 1 orange wire Bit.

At the very minimum each studentshould have these 4 Bits so that they canmake something. The more inputsoutputs, and wires, the more complextheir project can be!

3 Projects need lots of wires!

For project-based workshops, it is veryimportant that you buy many wire Bits.On average, small projects require 1-3wire Bits. Wire Bits are importantbecause they allow studentsto break out of the circuit line andplace Bits in different directions.

4 Kits are great for simple demos

If you are just doing a demo and not aproject-based workshop, we recommendbuying one of our Kits (Starter Kit,Extended Kit, or Holiday Kit. The TeaserKit is too small). It is also good to have

extra power Bits and back-up batteries onhand for demo tables.

Then if you’d like, you can supplementthe Kits by buying some additionalindividual Bits to expand your collection!

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 What Project Should I Make?1 Does your project revolve around a

certain littleBIts Kit?

Ornament Ice Skater New Year’s Hat

Flickering Lantern Bristle Bot

Starter Kit Projects

Treasure Chest Night Eyes Super Stirrer

Extended Kit Projects

Holiday Kit Projects

2 Is your project based on individual Bits? 

Visit our Project Gallery for dozensof cool project examples.

Candy Cane

Back Massager

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 What is a Project Template?Project templates are pre-made, printed outdrawings that help students construct a projectfaster & easier. The next page has an example.

Templates are great for:

1 Short workshops

If students do not have enough time togure out how to build a structure out ofconstruction paper, templates are greatto have on hand. That way a student cansimply cut out, fold, and glue a templateand then add littleBits.

2 Young audiences

If your students are between the agesof 8-10, it may be difcult for them tocreate a project without any adult help.Templates help younger students focusmore on the interaction between Bitsand less on construction.

3 Classrooms

You can print out a stack of templates

and hand one to each student with ease.Then each student can independently workon his or her project. They can alwayscustomize their project by coloringit in and adding craft materials as aspecial touch.

4 Hacking

You don’t need a special littleBits templateto make an awesome project. There aremany websites online that have free

templates for use. For example, you cannd a template online for a house andstudents can hack this house by addinglittleBits to it. What was once a boringpaper house, now has blinking lights in itswindow! Or a buzzing doorbell on its door!

littleBits templates that are available online:

1 Monkey PDF

2 Dragon PDF

3 Igloo PDF

4 Interactive Card PDF

More templates coming soon!

igloo

roll up for

igloo entrance 

tabs to

help glue 

cut around the edge 

& fold on inner lines

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 i    g l   o o

 r o l   l    u  pf   o r

 i    g l   o o e  n t  r a n c e 

 t  a b  s  t  o

 h  e  l    p  g l   u e 

 c u t  a r o u nd  t  h  e  e d 

  g e 

 & f   o l  d  o n i   n n e  r l   i   n e  s 

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Craft Material Shopping ListCraft materials we love:

. popsicle sticks

. pipecleaners. construction paper

. tissue paper

. modeling wood/balsa wood

. tape, double-sided tape

. glue dots

. jingle bells

. plastic straws

. headbands

. styrofoam balls

. rubberbands

. cotton balls

. markers

Common tools we love:

. scissors

. hot glue gun (+ glue sticks)

. xacto knives

. wire cutters

Advanced Tools (for older ages):

. laser cutter

. 3D printer

. power tools

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Project Tips & TricksThere are some little tricks to use when buildingwith littleBits that have really awesome results!

1 Make noiseVibration motor + bell = ringing sound(see project littlePiggy)

2 Diffuse light

LED + styrofoam ball = light diffuser

3 Create movement

Vibration motor + half of a plastic Easteregg = movement. (similar to bristle bots,see project Robo Lobo)

4 Spin things

Attach things to the DC motor to makethem spin, plastic straws work really well

5 Skip tape, use gluedots

We like using materials like poster tack andglue dots to attach Bits to projects. And ALOT of tape. You can nd them at an artsand craft store (i.e. Michaels, Blick, orUtrecht).

6 Create quick structures

Balsa wood sticks and plastic straws workwell when trying to add structure to craftyprojects made out of construction paper.

7 Use wire modules

Use the orange modules (branch, fork,wire) to help place bits exactly where youwant (if you are embedding inside a

structure).

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Share Your Workshops!We love to see how our communityof Bitsters are using littleBits.

Visit our Project Gallery and uploadyour lesson plan or project idea toshare with the littleBits community.

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Contact UsNot sure what Bits to buy?

Don’t know what project your class should make?

No problem! Feel free to contact:

Tara NoftsierEducation Account Managereducation@littlebits.cc

We love to hear what has worked well and what’snot. We constantly strive to improve our Bits andmake sure everyone has a positive experience!

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SafetylittleBits are low voltage, low current modules.

If you have any questions about safety, or you have

already purchased a product and would like tospeak to us, please contact us at info@littleBits.cc.

Minimum age recommendation: 8 years and up

  WARNING:This product contains small magnets.Swallowed magnets can stick together acrossintestines causing serious infections and death.

Seek immediate medical attention if magnets areswallowed or inhaled.

WARNING:This product contains a chemical known to theState of California to cause cancer and birthdefects or other reproductive harm.

!

!

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now go

have some

geeky fun!

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