Making faces using everyday objects and objects of significance to make portraits is an idea that comes from the artist Hanoch Piven. Hanoch Piven is an artist and author who has a beautiful practice of making highly expressive portraits using found objects! You can learn more here. Once you have created a face, try bringing them to life in Scratch using stop motion techniques. Moving from unplugged to digital provides the opportunity to expand your creative expression and transform your original creation.

To start this activity, first you’ll want to gather items you feel could make up parts of a face. The items can either have special meaning and/or represent something about you or your life, or they can simply be fun and interesting objects.

Explore the Scratch sound library, which is full of a variety of sound effects, voices, and longer sound loops. Try the music extension blocks that let you use the sounds of a variety of instruments and actual notes with customizable beat lengths to create digital instruments, songs, and more! Using sound in a game, animation, story, or interactive project can add depth and emotion. From the Scratch sound library, recording your own sound, uploading a sound, or using music blocks, experiment with options to make your sound project interactive using inputs like keyboard keys, the mouse, video motion, or even the features of your face or the Makey Makey combined with items like bananas!

Use the Face Sensing blocks in Scratch Lab to create games, interactive stories, and accessible projects. Try our lesson plan to explore and reflect on both the opportunities and the limitations of these new technologies through topics for classroom discourse.

Is Face Sensing private? When you are using the Face Sensing blocks, only your computer can sense your face. None of your data is stored or sent to Scratch or any other site.

Why doesn’t it always sense my face? The technology behind the Face Sensing blocks is not perfect. It is best at seeing faces that are brightly lit and close to the camera. It will often recognize faces even if they are partly hidden by a mask, glasses, hat, headscarf, or other covering. It does not do well at seeing faces that are far away, in the dark, or hidden.

Does it work with photos or drawings of faces? The Face Sensing blocks can detect faces in photos, and even in drawings. You can try making a smiley face drawing and holding it up to the camera to see if it works.

Is it learning? The Face Sensing blocks detect faces using a technology called “machine learning, ” but it is not learning while you use it. It has already been trained to see faces using a large number of photos of faces.

What if my camera is not working? When you load the Face Sensing blocks, you should see video from your computer camera on the Scratch stage. If it doesn’t appear, you may need to give Scratch permission to use your camera. Click “allow” when Scratch prompts for permission to use the camera, or check your web browser’s settings.

Create building solutions to real-world sustainability challenges using the objects you have around you! This lesson is made up of three activities that scaffold learners’ understanding of sustainability: (1) discussion to (2) building models with reusable materials to (3) creating a Scratch project that incorporates the model, bringing to life ideas on how to integrate sustainable elements.

In this lesson, we will explore the computational concepts of decomposition and sequence through both unplugged and digital activities in Scratch. First, we will attempt to fold a paper plane using only written/verbal instructions from the facilitator. Next, we will reflect on the importance of clear and detailed instructions and sequential order, as well as the process of breaking a task down into smaller instructions. Lastly, we’ll build on our understanding of sequence and decomposition as we attempt to create a shape drawing in Scratch using the Pen Tool extension. Using the Pen extension to create a visual artifact enables learners to observe results, debug, and iterate, all while having fun and gaining real-world problem solving and critical thinking skills!