MicroBit Do Your Bit for Healthy Oceans

A STEM challenge with an environmental focus was recently taken up by Bill Harvey, Computing Teacher, and a group of Year 5 children from Caen Community Primary School in Devon.

Based on the MicroBit Educational Foundations 'Do Your Bit' UN Global Goals Challenges, the children chose to add their own twist to 'Healthy Oceans' as this is a subject close to home and one they are passionate about. 

To prepare, the group looked at how important the oceans are to our planet and set about the task in hand - to design an Ocean Monitoring Buoy.

The buoy was to be fitted with sensors and able to record the health of the Oceans by measuring elements like temperature, CO2 levels, direction etc. The children began by drawing a plan and moved on to build a model that of course needed to be waterproof, float and contain a working MicroBit (a small programmable computer). 

The MicroBit had to be programmed to transmit sensor data via Bluetooth to another MicroBit, simulating a land based receiving station. Using onboard sensors, the MicroBit detected temperature, movement, and direction – Mr Harvey held several lessons to talk about the use of these.

The children chose the sensors they wanted use and coded their transmitting MicroBit to send that data. Once built and coded, the models were tested in an ocean simulator (a water tank) during the last week of term.

Unfortunately, Year 5 had to isolate for the last week of term, so the group missed the actual testing.

Fear not! Mr Harvey managed to arrange for all the models to be collected and taken to his house where the testing and judging took place and was recorded for posterity. After judging he commented, “The challenge was won by a team of girls whose buoy wasn't that good, but they coded temperature, movement and direction successfully.”