Save the Wee Turtles

The plight of baby sea turtles trying to find their way to the ocean is one that has played out for millennia, and become increasingly harrowing as humans habitation has encroaches on some of their ancestral nesting grounds.

This project demonstrates how to build a robotic turtle that will respond to light, triggering it to start flapping its flippers and moving, hopefully, toward the freedom of the ocean.

The tools and materials for this project (aside from the motors and microcontroller) are things you can find around the home. Paired with the versatile robotics platform, CRICKIT for Circuit Playground Express, simple household materials can spring to life and take on any form your imagination desires!

This project demonstrates basic programming skills using Microsoft MakeCode and allows for easy experimentation and adaptation. 

Household Materials

  • Cardboard
  • Paper
  • Scissors
  • Screwdriver
  • Double-sided tape
  • Zip ties (or twist ties/wire)

Adafruit Electronics

1 x Circuit Playground Express
Circuit Playground Express is the perfect introduction to electronics and programming
1 x Adafruit CRICKIT for Circuit Playground Express
Creative Robotics and Interactive Construction Kit is an add-on to Circuit Playground Express that lets you #MakeRobotFriend using CircuitPython and MakeCode
2 x DC Gearbox Motor - "TT Motor" - 200RPM - 3 to 6VDC
TT DC Gearbox Motor with a gear ratio of 1:48 and 2 x 200mm wires with breadboard-friendly 0.1" male connectors
2 x Snap-on Hub for TT Motor
This motor hub snaps onto the TT motor and is a good solution to quickly and easily add custom parts to your robot project
1 x Alkaline AA batteries - 3 pack
These batteries are good quality at a good price, and work fantastic with any of the kits or projects that use AAs
1 x 3xAA holder with DC jack
Battery holder 3xAA batteries with 2.1mm DC jack
1 x USB cable - A/MicroB - 3ft
Standard A to micro-B USB cable

This guide was first published on Jul 24, 2018. It was last updated on Jul 24, 2018.

This page (Overview) was last updated on Jul 16, 2018.

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