Fruit Piano / Simple Instrument

Stage: Year 5-6 / KS2 (Ages 9-11) Time: 45-60 minutes Subjects: Science (Sensors & Materials), Music, Design & Technology Board: SPOKE (full board)

Learning Objectives

• Understand that some materials are conductive and can trigger a touch sensor, while others cannot

• Explore how a capacitive touch sensor detects a conductive object without needing a completed circuit

• Connect musical pitch to an everyday object

• Design and test a working musical instrument

Overview

Pupils build a simple "fruit piano" by connecting pieces of fruit or vegetables to the SPOKE board with crocodile clips. Each SPOKE pad is a capacitive touch sensor — it detects a conductive object by sensing a small change in the electrical field around the pad, not by completing a circuit. When a pupil touches the fruit, their body and the fruit together are conductive enough to trigger that change, so the pad registers a touch and plays a note.

Materials Needed

• SPOKE board

• Assorted fruit and vegetables (bananas, oranges, potatoes work well)

• Crocodile clips and wire

• Computer with web browser

• Audio Playground page (spokeboard.com/play) for custom instrument sounds — optional

Instructions

1. Discuss as a class: what materials do you think will and won't be conductive enough to trigger a touch sensor?

2. Connect one crocodile clip to a SPOKE sensor pad and the other end to a piece of fruit

3. Repeat for 6-8 pieces of fruit, connecting each to a different sensor

4. Test each connection — touching the fruit should trigger a sound

5. Optional: use the Audio Playground to replace the default sounds with musical notes or custom instrument tones

6. Arrange the fruit like a keyboard and let pupils compose a simple tune

7. Record predictions vs results for which materials worked best

Teacher Tips

• Fresher fruit conducts better than dried-out fruit — test in advance

• Metal cutlery or foil-wrapped objects make a good non-fruit comparison

• Keep a spare set of clips on hand, as young pupils can pull connections loose

Extension Ideas

• Investigate which fruits conduct best and graph the results

• Replace fruit with other classroom objects to test conductivity further

• Compose and perform a short piece using the fruit piano for another class

Default SPOKE Play sounds work out of the box; the Audio Playground at spokeboard.com/play can be used to swap in custom instrument notes.