Littlebits KIT-12975, Manual

Page 1: ...activities created in collaboration with nasa scientists and engineers Here s to a universe of astronauts scientists thinkers and trailblazers le t s go love ...

Page 2: ...ill serve you well RADIO AND TELEVISION INTERFERENCE This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation This equipment generates uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and us...

Page 3: ...y circuit and the start of all your creations input modules accept input from you and the environment and send signals to the modules that follow output modules DO something light buzz move wire modules expand your reach and change direction great for helping to incorporate modules into your projects 4 maGNET maGiC littleBits modules snap together with magnets The magnets are always right you can ...

Page 4: ...trigger lets you use a common remote control with your modules Make your littleBits circuit and point your remote control at the remote trigger s sensor Then press any button on your remote control to activate the module It will work with almost any button on a remote that uses infrared light to send signals remote trigger i7 point a remote control at this module to turn your circuit on from acros...

Page 5: ...phone module translates sound into the electronic language of littleBits You can use it to turn sounds into light or motion or use it with the speaker module like a small megaphone Make sure the switch is set to sound when you re using it with the speaker and other for all your other modules microphone i21 The wire is just what it sounds like it allows you to physically separate your modules turn ...

Page 6: ...ne before The number module gives you a look into how your modules work it displays information about the signal it s receiving from your other modules It has two modes in value mode it displays a number from 0 to 99 based on the input In volts mode it displays the actual voltage it is receiving from 0 0 to 5 0 volts number o21 The speaker amplifies sound from modules like the microphone or other ...

Page 7: ...on the shaft A LEGO axle also fits in the end This little purple screwdriver is used to modify any module with a micro adjuster This cable is for connecting your microphone or speaker module to an audio source like an mp3 player or smartphone MOTORmatetm a10 The bright LED is a small module that puts out a big light Just like our other LED modules it s a great way to shed some light on your creati...

Page 8: ...let us hold you back every module fits with every other module feel free to experiment microphone power wire sound off Amplify your voice t rn me on sound mode speak into the mic hone d on t fo r g e the j u i c e c on nectyour cable and 9v batt speaker 8 ...

Page 9: ...otor yep second batt and cable here s nethebright EDontheli htsensor try both modes light mode change directions press any button on yo r house old remote con ol distant star Control modules from across the room light reader Learn how to measure light intro to dc motor Get to know the motor visit us at liTTlEBiTS CC TiPS for some amazing TiPS TRiCkS 9 ...

Page 10: ...energy 4 SOuND ENERGY The energy is sferred to sound energy by the spea r 5 ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY Light emitted by the bright is e am le o ectro magn ic ergy crest don t rg to plug in audio cable and m sic source trough ou h crest Sound waves are both potential and kinetic energy When the speaker moves it compresses air molecules nearby giving that air potential energy When the air expands potent...

Page 11: ...e light 102 name of wave Radio Waves Microwaves Infrared Visible Spectrum Ultra Violet X rays Gamma wavelength meters about the size of 101 10 1 10 2 10 3 10 4 10 5 10 6 10 7 10 8 10 9 10 10 10 11 10 12 100 Light is also ergy that travels in wa s ou cannot see these aves li you c see ocean waves but you can see their energy as isible li ht football eld you bee c l hone T remote elec ic d Light we ...

Page 12: ...littleBits cc space DOWNlOAD ACtiVitieS ONliNe At www liTTlEBiTS CC SPaCE p13 wave generator p16 measuring the atmosphere p22 star chart p14 energy meter p18 data communication p25 satellite orbit p15 make a spectrum p19 satellite dish p28 grappler p30 mars rover ...

Page 13: ...cal waves TimE 15 mins diFFiCulTy power wire speaker turn me on use audio cable to plug in mp3 player here d a spea r and lay cing up can you feel the vibrations try a st song and slow song what ppens Be s re to ep your modules d be careful and se remo able tape y O u llNEEd Describe how different music causes different reactions in the liquid audio cable 5 3 Having trouble T different son s un l ...

Page 14: ...rther from the energy source What happens if you point a house hold remote at the light sensor 1 2 3 4 pen energY meter PROJECT 2 Discover sources of light energy around you TimE 15 mins diFFiCulTy on li ht mode on value mode you may t to start your own sci fic notebook if yo find you need more om For e ample old your circ it to the s n a light bulb or in the dar power light sensor number turn me o...

Page 15: ...t sizes Shorter wavelengths will bend more and longer wavelengths will bend less Why does a CD behave like a prism They both act as diffraction grating The grooves on a CD diffract light into several beams like you saw in this experiment Makethiscircuit make a spectrum PROJECT 3 Explore light waves you can see TimE 15 mins diFFiCulTy Findadarkplaceandsetthe reflectivesideoftheCDopposite awhitewallo...

Page 16: ...books y O u llNEEd pen boo glass and water mil boo power wire wire light sensor number bright led turn me on on li ht mode adjust s sitivity with screwdriver Orientyourcircuitsaboveandbelowtheglass Measuretheamountofenergypassingthroughthe bottomoftheglass Recordyourdata Makethesetwocircuits 1 2 3 16 drin s aw plastic wrap The n mbers you observe are da you are gatheri plastic This project is simi...

Page 17: ...particlesintheatmosphere Whatdoyouthinkwillhappentothenumberif youaddadropofmilktothewater Recordyour hypothesis Nowconductanexperimenttofindout ifyouwereright Continueaddingmilkandrecordyourobservations Repeatsteps3and4andrecordyourdata 4 5 6 7 17 Why not y some other li uids as w l Or ge Juice oda Measuring from bottom With water the reading will be high because light is traveling downward With ...

Page 18: ...ensor Whathappens Placebothcircuitsonaflatsurface likebelow mp3 player audio cable Makethesetwocircuits 9 ma s re the IR LED is at a 90 de ree angle to the lig t s sor and adjust s sor to minimum sensitivity hold about 3 above light sensor hold at least 12 away from light sensor NASA uses electromagnetic waves to communicate with satellites orbiting Earth ma sure the volume is all way up 1 2 3 4 5...

Page 19: ... bo l it ll rk best trim off any e cess foil try to align tip of stic in middle of bo l Findapaperorplasticbowland coveritwithfoil Tooptimizetheamountoflightthatisreflected intoyoursensor you llneedtocalculatewherethe focuspointis Usecraftsticktomakeasensorarm Onceyouhavefoundtheidealfocus point gluecraftsticktobowl hot lue foil to bowl the dimensions will depend on the s e o your bowl hot lue li t...

Page 20: ...p Decorate by adding foam ball at of stic on other side o light sensor cut foam ball in lf ShinebrightLEDintoyourdish what happenstothenumberreading Cutslitinbottomofcup 10 T different shapes li a mixing bo l or pot lid d see if you can improve your design 6 7 8 9 adjust s sitivity o the li ht sensor with scr driver 20 sharp be careful Show us what satellite dish you made littleBits cc upload ...

Page 21: ... of the extreme distances between the spacecraft and Earth Signals must travel millions or even billions of kilometers between Earth and a spacecraft in deep space The spacecraft s communi cations equipment designed to be small and light weight transmits at very low power typically about the same as a refrigerator light bulb Receiv ing antennas on Earth must have large collectors antenna dishes wi...

Page 22: ...y and project the night sky in your room wire wire bright led TimE 60 min diFFiCulTy Cutthebottomoffofaplasticcup TapebrightLEDontopofcardboardcircle tape pen scissors box cutter colored paper adjust s sitivity with screwdriver tape brig t LED re op end place po er batt inside the cu tape to the dest op ing of the cup you ll need this art 1 2 3 4 22 sharp be careful Forexpandedactivity goto little...

Page 23: ...helights thedarkerit getsthebrighterthestarswillbe PROJECT YOUR STAR CHART tape cone d cup in place once you ve s it use a pen to po the oles o the const lations cut art to si e to fit on end o cone cut a rec ngular s ip and e ends tog her then e it to your cone W ay will yo atta the star art so that it appears the same as the night sky tape it to the large end of your cone 5 6 7 9 23 ...

Page 24: ...ut in fact they are very far away Astronomers measure distances using a unit called the light year which equals about 5 9 trillion miles 9 5 trillion km or 63 240 times the distance from Earth to the Sun TRY THEsE cAlculATIONs The bright star in Orion called Betelgeuse is located 650 light years from Earth What is this distance in miles or kilometers Betelgeuse is expected to blow up as a supernov...

Page 25: ...rdboardandcutthemout Fillthecupwithsomeweight Covercupwithcircularpieceof cardboardandtapeitdown y O u llNEEd tape box cutter mar r plastic cup card board foam ball lar e weight plates bb s ers pipe cle er remote hot lue box box remote trigger dc motor plus the motormate power wire wire plates plates sTAY sAFE Always use with an adult Cutaslotinaplasticcup 1 2 3 4 5 25 sharp be careful cut ring li...

Page 26: ...fthefoamball MakeacardboardshelffortheDCmotor AttachpipecleanertomotorMate andputontheDCmotor Decorateyour model Addsatellitetoendofpipecleaner Thengluetocenterofcardboardcurve TapetheDCmotortothecardboardshelf Placethe cardboard curveinthe slotinthecup andtapein place the s er should be tilted li the Earth s axis 6 7 8 9 26 The Earth is on a 23 tilt hot be careful Forexpandedactivity go tolittleB...

Page 27: ... from the Sun With each orbit the MODIS sensor onboard the satellite can observe a swath of data over 1400 miles 2253 km wide and can image almost the entire Earth surface everyday wATCH YOUR SATELLITE ORBIT EARTH PRESS BUTTON ON REMoTE Images Courtesy NASA 27 The AURA Satellite A satellite at an altitude of 438 miles 705 km orbits Earth once every 99 minutes Ho many orbits does the satellite make...

Page 28: ...n NASA engineering by building this robotic space arm wire TimE 90 mins diFFiCulTy Cutthebottomoff of2plasticcups Cutthreepiecesofstringthesamelength Tapethemtotheinsideofonecup Placetheothercupoverthecupwith strings Feedthestringsupthroughthe topofbothcups Tapethemtotheoutside oftheoutercup tape rubber band dra ng tool scissors box cutter The strings should be a little longer than the diam er of ...

Page 29: ...se rubberbandstoholdinplace Securetheoutercuptotheruler usingwoodenskewersandtape Image Courtesy NASA Cuttheendoffacraftstick andstickintomotorMate PlacemotorMateontoD shaftof themotor Tracewideendofcupon cardboardandcutoutcircle 6 8 9 29 cut a small hole Tapecardboardcircletoinnercupand stickthecraftstickinthehole put a dab of hot glue here to secure cra t stic ma sure lip of the outer cup is lf ...

Page 30: ...ttter scissors plastic cups card board cra t stic s paper tube cardboard boxes bb s ers drin s aw remote hot lue bb remote trigger dc motor plus the motormate power wire wire drin drin cardboard cardboard Cut t s of of t plastic c ps circles need to be the same diam er as the inside o the bi whe ma a cut the si e o a cra t stic at the center o the circles slide them toge r rims cing out tape m tog...

Page 31: ...careful Putthecraftstickthroughtheslotsand addthemotorMatetooneendofit Placecardboardcirclesonbothsides ofthewheelandglueinplace mo ate cut cra t stic so it will fit in your bo cut a strip of cardboard and ma a hole in one side place D motor directly across and pe down ell mo ate connects to the D s t o the D motor atta whe to mo cra t stic cra t stic end goes th ugh the a le holder ma sure that th...

Page 32: ...fnearthefront Stickasmallboxontopofthe craftstickandhotglueinplace Mars Rover Continued Makeholesforaxles 12 13 14 15 16 three on this side po s wer th ugh both sides and glue whe s on the ends side i special note Only the rst d last whe a les go all the way th ugh the middle whe s are ust lued in with short a les and don t s in Tape eve thing do n ma ng sure that nothing interferes with a les PRO...

Page 33: ... 20 minutes Due to these time delays it is impossible to communicate with and control the rover in real time To send instructions to rovers on Mars NASA scientists must have a line of sight between Earth and Mars Occasionally Earth and Mars are on opposite sides of the sun called conjunction During this time the sun can disrupt or block radio communication between the two planets Use a remote to d...

Page 34: ...OOL YOU NEIL ARMSTRONG 1ST MOONWALK WAS MADE APOLLO11 DURING THE MISSION BY AMERICAN ASTRONAUT 10 3m long 9 2 7m wide 7 2 1m tall wow over 200 individuals TheMARSROVER CURIOSITY is about the size of a small SUV THIS WAS THE FIRST SATELLITE LAUNCHED INTO SPACE THIS WAS IN 1957 16 NASA satellites orbitEarth 14 times a day to create daily global images of our planet 5 more satellites will launch BY E...

Page 35: ...make something that does something tm ...

Page 36: ...international space station www littleBits cc iSS and tons more proJects at www littleBits cc space This booklet s over but the fun s not done pluslittleBits Bundles Boost it Packs available here www littleBits cc products slide dimmer latch fan light wire learn ho to play music on the I S INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATIoN Expand your building possibilities with kits from our Exploration Series Create y...