The Little Box of Poems is a box that prints out a random short poem when you press a big red button.
I made my first one with an Arduino microcontroller and a thermal printer in 2012, and then in 2013 I made one using a RaspberryPi instead. I’ve also now made one using a BBC micro:bit.
It’s a great educational project that can involve a whole family or class; each child can contribute something. There’s the Computer Science / ICT side: programming the Arduino or Raspberry Pi. There’s physics: how the thing is wired up, how do you connect a power supply and how big must it be? DT: making the case. Art: designing a logo or pictures to decorate it. And, of course, English: writing or choosing short poems to go inside it.
Find out more about the Raspberry Pi-filled Little Box of Poems here, and the Arduino-powered one here. If you make one yourself, let me know what you put in yours!
