Circuit Playground Express

Table of Contents

  1. Lesson 1: Introduction to the CPX and MakeCode
  2. Lesson 2: Programming the CPX with MakeCode
  3. Lesson 3: Making a Simple Button Piano
  4. Lesson 4: Light-Level Instrument
  5. Lesson 5: Capacitive Sensing
  6. Lesson 6: CPX as a Keyboard
  7. Lesson 7: CPX as a Mouse
  8. Lesson 8: Analog Input
  9. Lesson 9: Digital Input

Video. In the video above, we are using the CPX and capacitive sensing to measure the hand’s distance from the soda can. See more in Lesson 5: Capacitive Sensing. Join us in this tutorial series to learn about the amazing Circuit Playground Express (CPX) microcontroller platform and drag-and-drop visual programming called MakeCode.

Welcome! 👋🏽

In this tutorial series, you will learn how to use Adafruit’s Circuit Playground Express (CPX) microcontroller platform and the wonderfully powerful and easy-to-use visual programming language called MakeCode. These tutorials are designed to be completed in order.

We’ve written these CPX tutorials assuming you have limited background in circuits and/or programming. If these concepts are new to you, these tutorials are likely a great place to start before diving into our series on Intro to Electronics and Intro to Arduino.

Many of the lessons have full video tutorials 📽. If you want to view them conveniently in one place, see the YouTube playlist here.

Lesson 1: Introduction to the CPX and MakeCode

In this lesson, you’ll learn about the Circuit Playground Express (CPX), how it differs from and relates to the Arduino platform, and how to program the board.

Lesson 2: Programming the CPX with MakeCode

In this lesson, we will make our first MakeCode+CPX program—called Blinky. As we build, we will learn about the MakeCode programming environment, the simulator, and how to load our program on to the CPX.

Lesson 3: Making a Simple Button Piano

In this lesson, we will make our first interactive CPX program: a simple button piano, which uses the CPX’s built-in buttons and the speaker to make sound.

Lesson 4: Light-Level Instrument

In this lesson, we will make our second interactive CPX program, which builds on our knowledge from the first: a light-responsive instrument.

Lesson 5: Capacitive Sensing

In this multi-part lesson, we will use the CPX’s capacitive touch features to create a proximity sensor, a banana piano, and a lo-fi input controller made out of cardboard, copper tape, and tin foil.

Lesson 6: CPX as a Keyboard

In this multi-part lesson, we will revisit using the CPX as a keyboard and walk through creating a custom keyboard and an accelerometer-based keyboard.

Lesson 7: CPX as a Mouse

In this multi-part lesson, we will build a custom mouse with the CPX and MakeCode. We’ll start with a simple discrete mouse that moves the mouse cursor by a few pixels when you press the built-in CPX buttons before showing how to make an accelerometer-based mouse.

Lesson 8: Analog Input

In this lesson, we learn about how to use and hookup external sensors using analog input with the CPX and MakeCode.

Lesson 9: Digital Input

In this lesson, we learn about how to use and hookup external buttons using digital input with the CPX and MakeCode.