The littleBits Synth Kit offers students and teachers a unique way to combine play and learning in the intermediate years of education. For students in Grades 3-6, the Synth Kit helps them exhibit extra easy music creation while they simultaneously learn the ins and outs of circuitry through project-based play. The 12-bit kit is a fully-functional, potently powerful all-in-one modular synthesizer that was developed in partnership with KORG and is a perfect way to get 21st century kids to add the ‘A’ to STEAM!
Each Synth Kit comes with many of the classic littleBits modules—like the Power Bit and the Oscillator Bit. Packed inside, however, are a slew of music-specific Bits that kids can use to creatively compose melodies of varying lengths, tempos and pitches. The modules in the kit include a keyboard, micro sequencer, envelope, filter, delay, mix, split and speaker—providing kids with an endless amount of opportunities for innovation in music education classes!
Like all littleBits kits, the Synth Kit includes an in-color project guide to help students complete 10 different music-centered projects! Sometimes, you need additional materials, like a cup or a straw, in order to make the music resonate more beautifully, but I decided I’d try my luck at making some Metal Music (Project 5). It was pretty awesome because, for this particular project, I got to use almost all of the modules—six to be exact—and it really showed how they all worked together to create a cool-sounding harmony.
The instructions in the guide book show kids exactly how to construct the circuit and, more importantly, how to tune the knobs on the modules to get them just right. It’s super easy to learn which way to turn the knobs on the oscillators, the micro sequencer and the envelope so that some sweet sounds come out of the speaker at the end! Take it from me—I found myself literally playing my way from amateur to professional in no time!
If your goal is to smash tech-heavy learning complications and emerge a future-ready rockstar, the littleBits Synth Kit is a dynamic way to dial up some simple STEAM in the classroom!
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