Circuit Playground is a really fun, really easy to use micro controller that is a great way to add sensors and interactivity to your project without a whole lot of fuss and soldering.

It's got a built in motion sensor, a sound sensor, a light sensor, and a temperature sensor, as well as a built in speaker and 10 neopixels, ready to use right out of the box.  I'm just starting to explore the fun things this board can do.

Today we're going to play with the onboard neopixels and add fiber optics or light pipe to make your project dance and shine.

Materials

• Circuit Playground
• Battery (liPoly, AAA or USB)  - optional
• Light Pipe or Fiber Optics
• Hot Glue or Superglue

Tools

• 3d Printer
• Sharp scissors or snips

Note: If you don't have a 3d Printer, you can easily just order the case from Shapeways.

 

Before You Start

If this is your first foray into the world of arduino-based microcontrollers, you'll need to install some software first.  Head over to the Circuit Playground Lesson 0 guide for detailed installation and setup instructions.  

You'll only need to do all this once, so be a little patient if it seems like a lot!  This is actually the hardest part.