Tuesday, April 21 / 2:00 PM

Today, I worked on the programming side of my project on Scratch. It took me a while to figure
out how to make multiple sounds play at the same time, so I called my friend (a resident
Scratch “expert”--he used to make video games on it), and we figured it out together. I
designed a pentatonic scale so that no notes would sound bad together, and I added a loop
track from the Scratch website in the same key as the scale I wrote. This track will play when
people hold on to the staff next to the throne and it’ll act as a backing track. Then, I cut some
tin foil and hooked it up to my laptop using the alligator clips to test out the “keyboard.” It
worked! I am confident that the current from the computer and the Makey Makey will be able
to reach all the way up the tin foil I eventually tape onto my project.
Wednesday, April 22 / 3:30 PM
I did a lot today! I’ll add a comment underneath each photo.

First, I cut the triangles from the cardboard I collected. This is just to make it look more like a
castle; it’s purely aesthetic.

This is what the project looked like after cutting the triangles.
I started taping tin foil sheets onto all sides of the “castle.” These sheets will act as the
“keyboard.” People will touch the tin foil and complete the circuit to make a note play. Each
piece of tin foil will complete the circuit for a different note.

I cut a tiny hole into each of the tin foil sheets, which is where I will clip the alligator clip for
each note. The wires will be entirely hidden behind the cardboard.

I found a staff to use to connect the “earth” cable to the person!

(More on next page)

I realized that my alligator clips would not be long enough to reach behind the cardboard and
back, so my dad found some metal wire in his office for me. I’ll attach it to the alligator clips to
lengthen the circuit. I think it’s from before I was born, but it should work. He bought it from
Radio Shack! Rest in peace, Radio Shack.

I wrapped some tin foil around the staff. I’ll hide the earth wire in here as well as the wire that
plays the loop in the background, so in order to make music, people hold the staff to complete
the circuit AND they automatically start the track in the background.
Okay, that is the end of the major construction on the project. This is just a draft… It needs a lot
more work to make it look aesthetically pleasing, and I still have to connect the wires and the
Makey Makey. I’m excited to see how it turns out, though!

Tuesday, May 5 10:30 PM

Tonight, I created some of my own alligator clips using the wire my dad gave me.

I wrapped the wire around the makey makey clip to attach it to the project. This was just to give
me more length. I felt like a real electrical enginer, hahaha…
Finally, I tested the wires to make sure everything worked, and it did!
Wednesday, May 6 1:00 PM
I decided to replace the tin foil “panels” by making shields with this box. I covered the
cardboard shields with tin foil, and voila! They work perfectly. I clipped the alligator clips to the
bottom of the shields. I also covered the cardboard “castle” with some leftover decorative
paper my dad had from a previous project. It makes it look much more medieval.

After fixing up the “staff” by wrapping tin foil around it and connecting wires to it, I am done.
Here’s the final product!