My project for our Little Bits unit was what I call the "Late Night Study Hat." I used several Little Bits parts that were available through our school to create a hat you can wear at night to read using the lights on the side, and also gives you a forehead massage in case you get too stressed out. There are two switches at the top, one for the lights, which is an on/off switch, and one for the vibration, which is a slider switch to vary the level of power of the massage tool. The whole thing is operated by a 9 volt battery. In the images below, you can see my process of planning and assembly. I did not hide the battery for the final project because I did not want to permanently fix the contraption into the hat since we had to return the Little Bits to the school. However, if I was going to make it for future use, I would have tucked in the battery so it wasn't visible, and maybe added a zipper feature so you can change it as necessary.
Using Little Bits was one of my favorite projects in the class. I feel that it makes creation of functional art very accessible, as they are easy to use and hard to "get wrong", since they only click together magnetically. I could see using these in any level of classroom, from elementary to high school and beyond. I really enjoyed being able to create alongside my fellow students as well. It was inspiring to see what others were creating and it was a great way to work collaboratively, which I think is important for students to learn how to do. It also incorporates creativity, as I had to basically invent a new item that used the Little Bits we had on hand. I could see having Little Bits in an art classroom in a maker space or as a project that augments or even modifies the curriculum. I could also combine Little Bits with art making, changing projects from ones that are purely visual to ones that incorporate sound and motion and even function!
My drawn plan for my Little Bits project
