
Joan Horvath/Rich Cameron
E
very wizard worth their wand has a familiar —
an animal friend that can help carry out their
commands, bring them information, or carry
messages to their fellow wizards. Fortunately
for those of us without magical skills, there are
amazingly capable microcontrollers that can
allow us to make a magic wand, or a familiar, that
will react as we command. We can do either of
these projects with a BBC micro:bit controller,
and program it with drag-and-drop block coding.
The BBC designed the micro:bit processor
as an introduction to electronics and coding
for 8- to 14-year-olds, and there are extensive
resources to get started. ...