The BBC micro:bit has grown in popularity over the years. The micro:bit might be small electronics board but it’s packed with features (e.g. LED’s, accelerometer, temperature sensor, light sensor, compass, etc.) offering kids of all ages the opportunity to get started with their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) learning journey. Kids can use the BBC micro:bit board to get started with coding, later on start dabbling with electronics and eventually try their hand at robotics all using the same little electronics board.

As you journey through this course you will explore the functionality provided by various BBC micro:bit add-on boards and learn how to program those add-on boards using the BBC micro:bit.

Prerequisites –

1. This tutorial makes extensive use of the BBC micro:bit.
2. If you haven’t purchased a BBC micro:bit yet you might want to head over and pick one up now.
3. We would recommend that you pick up the BBC micro:bit, BBC micro:bit breakout board and a breadboard.
4. The BBC micro:bit breakout board and breadboard makes working with the BBC micro:bit a lot easier.
5. You will also need a Rainbow Tree Board and a Snowflake Board to be able to work on this development track. You can them up from OzToyLib.
6. We will be using the official BBC Makecode Block editor to write code for all our tutorials.

About BBC micro:bit

The Micro Bit (also referred to as BBC Micro Bit, stylised as micro:bit) is an ARM-based embedded system designed by the BBC for use in computer education in the UK. The board is 4 cm × 5 cm and has an ARM Cortex-M0 processor, accelerometer and magnetometer sensors, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, a display consisting of 25 LEDs, two programmable buttons, and can be powered by either USB or an external battery pack. The device inputs and outputs are through five ring connectors that are part of the 23-pin edge connector at the bottom of the board. The micro:bit can be programmed using the Microsoft Block code program editor which is similar to the block based language Scratch ideal for 7-12 year olds. The micro:bit can also be programmed using the Makecode editor in Javascript and Python which allows for older kids to learn the Javascript and Python programming language using the micro:bit.

You can read more about the BBC micro:bit at the microbit website. Also see Kitronik’s resources here – Parents Complete Guide To The BBC micro:bit.