Invention kit for banana pianos, alphabet soup keyboards
The MaKey MaKey Invention Kit enables nutty computer-connected creations like Playdough Super Mario controllers and water bucket Dance Dance Revolution triggers.
Go ahead, MaKey MaKey my day.
(Credit: Jay Silver/MaKey MaKey)For the most part, keyboards just aren't very exciting. They sit there and go clickety-clack. What if you want a keyboard that goes squish-squash or splish-splash? Then you turn to the MaKey MaKey Invention Kit.
MaKey MaKey is a kit that turns just about any object into a touchpad. It consists of a circuit board and a set of alligator clips.
A banana piano. What more could you possibly want? (Click to enlarge.)
(Credit: Jay Silver/MaKey MaKey)Clip those clips onto fruit, people, or pieces of bread. Even pencil markings can work. Open up a Web site or a program, plug the board into your computer's USB port, and you're good to go.
This means that absurd notions like banana pianos, alphabet soup keyboards, and beach ball game controllers can come to life. The only limit is your imagination, what you can fit the alligator clips onto, and a little bit of electrical conduction.
MaKey MaKey works with most recent operating systems. Your computer just sees it as a regular input device, like a keyboard or mouse.
The invention kit is already making a splash on Kickstarter, having topped its $25,000 funding goal with 28 days left to go. The best part of all of this is that a full MaKey MaKey kit will only put you back $35. Banana piano, here I come!
