I saw a funny video on Instagram with a sock puppet, and I thought I could make something similar using a micro:bit and an LED light. First, I made a sock puppet like the one in the video. Then I made a second version using conductive tape, conductive thread, and a micro:bit. I wanted to see if I could make the circuit work. When that worked, I made another version of the puppet and added an LED light. This made the project even more fun because the puppet could light up.
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| Version 1 | Version 2 | Version 3 | Version 4 |
What do you need
You don’t need a lot of things to make this project. And, of course, it’s even more fun to make your own version of it!
- a sock
- colour velt to make the mouth and tongue
- cotton or wool for the hair
- some fluffy things to make a nose or decorate more
- PingPong balls
- micro:bit and battery pack
- Conductive tape and thread
- Scissor and needle
- Crocodile clips to test the LED light
- LED light
- Carton
- Wobbly eyes
- cleaning sponse for stuffing the puppet
- glue gun
- and a plastic bag (i will explain later)
Make the puppet
Make the puppet by following the Instagram post. Of course, you should make your own version of it! Once your puppet is working, you can add the extra materials and turn it into your own interactive version.
Add the conductive material and LED’s
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| Add a piece of conductive tape to the tongue of the puppet and connect it to conductive thread. Bring the thread to the back of the puppet and connect it to the micro:bit. Attach the thread to GND on the micro:bit. | On the top of the mouth, add another piece of conductive tape and connect it to conductive thread. Bring the thread to the back of the puppet and connect it to P1 on the micro:bit. Important: Make sure the two conductive threads do not touch each other! | Place the LED light between the ping-pong balls. It is easier to use a larger LED because the legs of the LED are longer and easier to work with. Make sure the LED is positioned securely between the ping-pong balls. |
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| You can hot glue conductive thread to the leg of the LED Light. Bring the thread to the GND and the P2. | You can use hot glue to attach the conductive thread to the legs of the LED light. Connect one thread to GND and the other thread to P2 on the micro:bit. Make sure the two threads do not touch each other. | When I was testing it, it didn’t work properly. Not so strange, because my hand is also conductive and was touching the conductive threads! So, to make it work, I had to wear an extra glove or put a plastic bag over my hand when playing with the puppet. This prevents my hand from accidentally connecting the two conductive parts |
The code for the micro:bit
This is the basic code I made for the micro:bit. Really simple, you can add lots of other code to it.