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LittleBits Project: Goldfish!

LittleBits is an open source library of electronic modules created to make people, both kids and adults, start exploring the world of electronics. These colorful small boxes can be arranged in different combinations that allow us to build projects that could include sensors, LEDs, motors, etc. What makes this type of library very interesting is that prototyping can become a lot more easy. By removing the complexities of soldering circuits, which is also a lot of fun but requires a bit more time, ideas can quickly flow without feeling too restrained.

After looking around the lab for some inspiration I found a couple of plastic goldfish, and because I’m not very good at taking care of pets I thought of building a fish tank with two little goldfish swimming around it. For this small project I used:

Bits:

  • 9V battery
  • power
  • 2 RGB LED set to blue
  • 2 w1 wires
  • DC motor
  • w2 branch
  • And because it’s very easy to take the bits apart and put them back together I tried the circuit with the i18 motion trigger, i3 button, i11 pressure sensor and i14 bend sensor

Other stuff:

  • paper
  • blue and green paint
  • wire
  • 2 plastic goldfish
  • nails just to counterbalance the weight of the fish
  • metallic lamp (turned into fish tank!)

Goldfish-LittleBits

For small projects this is a nice starting point, maybe what I would like is to use longer wires so that space is not a constraint and build bigger projects, unless you have several wires snapped together of course.

More info about LittleBits can be found in their website (http://littlebits.cc/) and on the many YouTube videos of projects created by other users. But the best thing to do is just to try them out!