Published October 14, 2020 © GPL3+

Save the Bees, Little Bumblebee

To bring awareness about saving the bees, this little crocheted bumblebee is here to support the cause at the cost of his own wellbeing.

IntermediateShowcase (no instructions)5 hours201

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Adafruit Circuit Playground Express

Li-Ion Battery 1000mAh

Software apps and online services

Microsoft MakeCode

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Black Yarn

Yellow Yarn

White Yarn

Black Pom-poms

Polyester Stuffing

Story

Video of the bumblebee

This little bumblebee is a protest object made to bring awareness about saving the bees. Honey bees are in danger and the biggest causes are pesticides and habitat loss. They help pollinate our crops and provide us with the honey we use in our lives, without them, our food supply would be in danger. This bumblebee wishes to bring awareness about what's going on in their current environment and to help save the bumblebees.

Tutorial to create the bumblebee

I utilized this video to crochet the bumblebee and freehanded the pouch on its belly. How long it takes you to create the bumblebee is based on individual experience. I've played around with crocheting before so I was able to construct the bumblebee in a fair amount of time. The pouch was a bit more difficult as I freehanded it but its purpose is served. I used the leftover bit of black yarn to close off the open end of the pouch so that the CPX couldn't fall out.

Then I went into MakeCode and programmed the accelerometer to detect when the bumblebee is upside down and implemented a snippet of "Flight of the Bumblebee" to play when such an event occurs. I saw the keys of the song be played and did my best to translate it into the keys utilized in MakeCode. The use of the accelerometer is when the CPX is tilted past 90 degrees in either X or Y direction, translating into when the bumblebee is upside down, the music would play.

1 / 9 • Pictures of the construction of the bumblebee

function Bumblebee() {
    music.playTone(659, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(622, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(587, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(554, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(587, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(554, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(523, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(494, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(523, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(494, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(466, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(440, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(415, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(392, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(370, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(349, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(330, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(311, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(294, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(277, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(294, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(277, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(262, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(247, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(262, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(247, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(233, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(220, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(208, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(196, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(185, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(175, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(165, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(156, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(147, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(139, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(147, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(139, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(131, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
    music.playTone(130, music.beat(BeatFraction.Eighth))
}
let roll = 0
let pitch = 0
music.setVolume(245)
forever(function () {
    pitch = input.rotation(Rotation.Pitch)
    roll = input.rotation(Rotation.Roll)
    if (Math.abs(pitch) <= 50 && Math.abs(roll) >= 130) {
        light.stopAllAnimations()
        music.stopAllSounds()
        control.runInParallel(function () {
            light.showAnimation(light.theaterChaseAnimation, 20000)
        })
        Bumblebee()
    } else {
        light.stopAllAnimations()
        music.stopAllSounds()
    }
})

Credits

Michelle T

4 projects • 0 followers

Save the Bees, Little Bumblebee

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

Code

Bumblebee

Bumblebee JavaScript

Credits

Michelle T

Comments

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Save the Bees, Little Bumblebee

Save the Bees, Little Bumblebee

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

Code

Bumblebee

Bumblebee JavaScript

Credits

Michelle T

Comments

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