SCRATCH EXTENSION ARDUINO

Quick Start

To use the extension, upload the StandardFirmata program to your Arduino board and then open the Arduino extension on ScratchX.org.

Introduction

This Scratch extension lets you interact with the physical world using an Arduino board. For example, you can control lights and motors or measure light and temperature. The extension communicates with an Arduino board running the Firmata firmware.

Arduino board with a Grove LED, button, and temperature sensor.

Equipment

You need:

Arduino board

Like the Arduino Uno.

USB Cable

Full-sized

Electronic components

We recommend the Grove starter kit for Arduino (made by Seeed Studio). You can buy it from Maker Shed in the U.S. For other options, see working with basic electronic components below.

[nextpage title=”Getting Started” ]

Getting Started

1. Download and install the Arduino software (Windows instructions, Mac instructions)
2. Connect the Arduino to your computer’s USB port
3. Open the Arduino software
   
4. Go to File > Examples > Firmata > Standard Firmata
   
5. Select your Arduino board from the Tools > Board menu
   
6. Select your serial port from the Tools > Port menu.
   On Mac, it’s something like /dev/tty.usbmodem-1511.
   On Windows, it’s probably the highest-numbered COM port.
   (Or unplug the Arduino, check the menu, and then replug your Arduino and see what new port appears.)
   
7. Click the upload button
   
8. Download and install the Scratch Browser Plugin
9. Load the Arduino extension on ScratchX.
10. On FireFox, you might see “Allow scratchx.org to run “Scratch Device?”. Click “Allow…”.
    
    You might see another message, “Allow scratchx.org to run plugins?”. Set both Adobe Flash and Scratch Device to “Allow and Remember” and click okay.
    
11. On Chrome, you’ll need to enable NPAPI plugins. Go to chrome://flags/#enable-npapi and click enable:
    
    Then, click “Relaunch Now” button:
    
    Then, when you go to ScratchX.org, you should see a puzzle piece icon with an X on it: . Click on it and select “Always allow plug-ins on scratchx.org”:
    

[nextpage title=”Grove Modules” ]

Grove Modules

Grove Base Shield

The Grove Base Shield (V2) connects your Arduino board to the other Grove modules. It has different kinds of connections:

A0, A1, A2, A3

Analog inputs that read from sensors, like the light sensor, temperature sensor, and rotation knob.

D2, D3, D4, D5, D6, D7, D8

Digital connections that control LEDs and servo motors and read from push buttons. To fade an LED (not just turn it on and off), use D3, D5, or D6.

I2C and UART

These are more complex connections that we don’t use in the extension yet.

To connect a module to the shield, plug one of the Grove cables into the white connector on the module and one of the connectors on the shield. The cable only goes into the connector one way.

Working w/ Basic Electronic Components

Coming soon…

[nextpage title=”Scratch Blocks” ]

Scratch Blocks

This is a brief description of each of the Scratch blocks included with the Arduino extension.

Runs when a digital connection (D2, D3, D4, D5, D6, D7, D8) is turned on or off.

Runs when an analog connection (A0, A1, A2, A3) meets a certain condition.