The Empathy & Emotion Digital Pet
Source: Stemoto Original
Students craft a small 'pet' out of a cardboard box and felt, embedding the micro:bit in the front. Using block coding, they program the pet to express different emotions — smiling when petted (touch logo), dizzy when shaken, and sleeping when placed face down.
Categorisation
Props & Materials Required
- •micro:bit
- •Small cardboard box
- •Felt, googly eyes, pipe cleaners
- •Craft glue
- •Optional: small speaker for sound effects
Step-by-Step Instructions
Build the Pet Body
Decorate a small cardboard box with felt, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners to create your pet character. Cut a window in the front for the micro:bit's LED display to show through.
Insert the Brain
Slide the micro:bit into the box so the LED matrix faces outward through the window. This is your pet's 'face' — it will display emotions!
Program Happy
In MakeCode, program: when the micro:bit logo is touched → display a smiley face on the LED matrix. This is 'petting' your pet — it makes it happy!
Program More Emotions
When shaken → display a dizzy spiral (your pet doesn't like being shaken!). When tilted face-down → display ZZZ (your pet is sleeping). When Button A is pressed → display a heart (feeding time!).
Care for Your Pet
Throughout the day, 'check on' your pet. Is it happy? Hungry? Sleepy? Discuss: How can you tell when a real pet or a friend is feeling a certain way? This builds empathy awareness.
Why It Works & Notes
Social-emotional learning (SEL) integrated with basic cause-and-effect logic. Children learn to code conditional statements ('if touched, then smile') while simultaneously exploring empathy — understanding that their actions affect how their pet 'feels.'
NEP Alignment: Social-emotional learning (SEL) integrated with basic cause-and-effect logic. Curriculum Mapping: Arts & Health (Emotional Awareness, Empathy). Target Level: Class 1 & 2.