littleBits are electronic building blocks with over 60 modules and trillions of combinations. With littleBits, anyone can harness the power of electronics, microcontrollers, and the cloud--regardless of age, gender, technical ability, or educational background. You can combine these simple, snap-together, magnetic bricks to make simple electronic circuits, or build robots and devices that combine sensors, microcontrollers, and cloud connectivity. This book, co-authored by littleBits founder Ayah Bdeir, along with top-selling author Matt Richardson (Getting Started with Raspberry Pi), teaches you just enough electronics to start making things with littleBits and takes you on up through connecting littleBits to the cloud and programming with its Arduino-compatible module.

With LittleBits, you can build your own electronic devices using modules that snap together easily with magnets. With this book, students learn the art of innovation through detailed explanations and hands-on activities built to foster creativity and problem solving. Fun, engaging text introduces readers to new ideas and builds on maker-related concepts they may already know. Additional tools, including a glossary and an index, help students learn new vocabulary and locate information.

Start-to-finish, fun projects for makers of all types, ages, and skill levels! This easy-to-follow guide features dozens of DIY, low-cost projects that will arm you with the skills necessary to dream up and build your own creations. The Big Book of Makerspace Projects: Inspiring Makers to Experiment, Create, and Learn offers practical tips for beginners and open-ended challenges for advanced makers. Each project features non-technical, step-by-step instructions with photos and illustrations to ensure success and expand your imagination. You will learn recyclables hacks, smartphone tweaks, paper circuits, e-textiles, musical instruments, coding and programming, 3-D printing, and much, much more! Discover how to create: • Brushbot warriors, scribble machines, and balloon hovercrafts • Smartphone illusions, holograms, and projections • Paper circuits, origami, greeting cards, and pop-ups • Dodgeball, mazes, and other interesting Scratch games • Organs, guitars, and percussion instruments • Sewed LED bracelets, art cuffs, and Arduino stuffie • Makey Makey and littleBits gadgets • Programs for plug-and-play and Bluetooth-enabled robots • 3D design and printing projects and enhancements

This book is for advanced Force.com developers and architects who need to understand the Salesforce platform from the perspective of enterprise-level requirements. You should have an existing understanding of Apex and Visualforce. Those familiar with other enterprise software ecosystems will also find this book ideal as they adopt Force.com.

Program a graphical adventure game in this hands-on, beginner-friendly introduction to coding in the Python language. Launch into coding with Mission Python, a space-themed guide to building a complete computer game in Python. You'll learn programming fundamentals like loops, strings, and lists as you build Escape!, an exciting game with a map to explore, items to collect, and tricky logic puzzles to solve. As you work through the book, you'll build exercises and mini-projects, like making a spacewalk simulator and creating an astronaut's safety checklist that will put your new Python skills to the test. You'll learn how to use Pygame Zero, a free resource that lets you add graphics and sound effects to your creations, and you'll get useful game-making tips, such as how to design fun puzzles and intriguing maps. Before you know it, you'll have a working, awesome game to stump your friends with (and some nifty coding skills, too!). You can follow this book using a Raspberry Pi or a Microsoft Windows PC, and the 3D graphics and sound effects you need are provided as a download.

This guide shows youth librarians how to use the appeal of Minecraft—a game that many young learners are intensely passionate about—to create engaging library programs that encourage creativity and build STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) learning through library programs. Minecraft is more than "just a video game"; it's a powerful tool that librarians and other educators can use to engage students and spark legitimate learning experiences. This book shows you how to use Minecraft as a vehicle to promote learning and creativity, supplying specific, easy-to-replicate programs, ideas, and instructions for hands-on activities. By connecting the game to the maker movement and building off the game's popularity, you'll be able to use Minecraft to promote STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) learning. The book ties Minecraft to maker activities, learning in the library, three-dimensional printing, literary activities, crafting, and more. The activities in this book will also enable you to help children ages 8–14 to expand their key 21st-century skills, such as collaboration, trial and error, and discovery.

The Arduino is a cheap, flexible, open source microcontroller platform designed to make it easy for hobbyists to use electronics in homemade projects. With an almost unlimited range of input and output add-ons, sensors, indicators, displays, motors, and more, the Arduino offers you countless ways to create devices that interact with the world around you. In Arduino Workshop, you'll learn how these add-ons work and how to integrate them into your own projects. You'll start off with an overview of the Arduino system but quickly move on to coverage of various electronic components and concepts. Hands-on projects throughout the book reinforce what you've learned and show you how to apply that knowledge. As your understanding grows, the projects increase in complexity and sophistication. Among the book's 65 projects are useful devices like: – A digital thermometer that charts temperature changes on an LCD –A GPS logger that records data from your travels, which can be displayed on Google Maps – A handy tester that lets you check the voltage of any single-cell battery – A keypad-controlled lock that requires a secret code to open You'll also learn to build Arduino toys and games like: – An electronic version of the classic six-sided die – A binary quiz game that challenges your number conversion skills – A motorized remote control tank with collision detection to keep it from crashing Arduino Workshop will teach you the tricks and design principles of a master craftsman. Whatever your skill level, you'll have fun as you learn to harness the power of the Arduino for your own DIY projects. Uses the Arduino Uno board