About Lesson
Step 1: Make it
What is it?
Use the sun icon from the Here comes the sun to make a sunbeam animation.
How it works
- The program shows a sequence of sun pictures on the LED display based on the one we made in the Here comes the sun project.
- It waits 500 milliseconds (half a second) between showing each image to allow you to see it before displaying the next.
- The sequence makes an animation of sunbeams coming from the centre of the sun.
- The sequence repeats for as long as your micro:bit has power because the instructions are inside a forever, or infinite, loop.
- Computers are often used to help animators make cartoons and films, creating an illusion of movement by showing a sequence of slightly different images one after another.
What you need
- micro:bit (or MakeCode simulator)
- MakeCode or Python editor
- battery pack (optional)
- squared paper to sketch your own sunbeam designs (optional)
Step 2: Code it
MakeCode
Step 3: Improve it
- Speed up or slow down the animation by changing the delay of 500 milliseconds.
- Use your own design for the sun and its rays.
- In Python, use a range of numbers from 1 to 9 to show the sun’s rays getting dimmer as they get further from the centre.