Fun Fact Friday: Hacks for Alligator Clips
It's time for fun fact Friday!
Everybody knows that we love alligator clipping to everyday objects here at Makey Makey. But what do you do when you open your Makey Makey box to discover somebody didn't clean that banana goo off the alligator clips? (EW!)
Here's some fun hacks to keep your alligator clips clean and shiny!
Use a Paper Clip
1) Don't put the alligator clip in the banana! While you can actually plug onto the stem of a banana and still conduct lovely music, you could also just alligator clip onto a regular ole office paper clip and poke the paperclip into your banana or Play-Doh instead!
#MakeyMakey hack of the day! Use a paperclip with your alligator clip when you don’t want your clips to get yucky! pic.twitter.com/X6GEeg0jlY
— Makey Makey (@makeymakey) October 10, 2018
Brush your Teeth
2) We know sometimes that you might have had too much fun with your last Makey Makey project and you forgot to clean your alligator clips before storing them. Don't worry, you can just use a little soap and water and an old toothbrush to get those alligator teeth shiny again!
Other Alligator Clip hacks
Keeping alligator clips clean is one thing, but sometimes they are just so hard to open and close, ya know? Don't worry, we have a hack for that too!
Kid- Friendly Alligator Clip Hack
Hack a clothespin to make a kid friendly alligator clip! For this tutorial, we used the conductive fabric tape from our Inventor Booster Kit to hack a regular clothespin.
Make a Conductivity Tester
You can also hack a clothespin to make a conductivity tester! After watching our video, check out the full Labz guide here.
Make your Clips Longer!
While we do have some extra long alligator clips in our STEM pack, you could also just make your own super lengthy alligator clips! Check out this guide from John Lynch to make your perfect length alligator clips.
Use the Back of Your Makey Makey
Did you know that you can buy alligator clips that have a jumper wire on the end? You can find them by searching "Alligator Clips to Male Header," and they are perfect to use with the headers on the back of the Makey Makey! You can get them from Amazon, Adafruit, and SparkFun!
Thank you @gravescolleen for the Jumper to ‘Gator clip find. They work perfectly and make it much simpler to use the back of the @makeymakey pic.twitter.com/A2ULXfv7H3
— Project Makerspace (@ProjMakerspace) October 10, 2018
By the way, if you are wondering how to use the back of your Makey Makey, we have a guide for that too!
Storage for Alligator Clips
We've seen a complicated nest of alligator clips before. Here are some interesting ideas for storing your alligator clips!
Super-easy #repurpose : tennis racquet alligator clip storage. #makerspace @TheLindenSchool pic.twitter.com/oZsj3JaAJB
— Beth Alexander (@bethkalexander) July 27, 2017
The best part about presenting in a classroom is stealing ideas. I lucked out today — got assigned the #MakerEd space. Totally using this alligator clip storage idea. Thanks, #usdlearns! #STEM pic.twitter.com/lTg6wGFHVB
— Katy Noelle Scott (@katynoellescott) August 10, 2018
What are your favorite alligator clip hacks? Let us know in the comments!
