Years ago when I first heard of littleBits, I knew we had to have them. We started with the Basic Set and since then, our collection has grown along with my kids’ desire to create imaginative items that use a myriad of pieces from our many sets. I love the creativity that comes when my kids pull out our stash of magnetic littleBits parts and the fact that they problem solve individually or together to work through some of the challenges that come with building cool things. After all, isn’t that part of being a scientist?
Just this week littleBits announced their annual Hack Your Halloween Challenge and invited me to be a guest judge. Since every chance to use littleBits is an an opportunity to be creative, I love how this contest keeps families creating as they use their bits to come up with spooky Halloween themed inventions. It’s a great excuse to get the new Gizmos & Gadgets Kit that is full of everything you need to jump right in and start creating!
How to Enter Hack Your Halloween 2015
Through their blog, littleBits suggested using the following steps in their Invention Cycle to come up with your masterpiece:
- Create: Come up with a bone-chilling idea to unleash on an unsuspecting world. Grab some Bits and a pile of Halloween props. Tinker until your idea comes aallliiiiiivvvveeeeee. If you need some inspiration, check out the littleBits Project page that is sure to get wheels in your head turning with ideas such as this creepy remote controlled car that uses the new Gadgets and Gizmos kit that comes out on Monday!
- Play: Recruit some friends, parents, and younger siblings to test your magical contraption or costume!
- Remix: Use the feedback you get from your test to iterate and make changes to your design. Maybe you want to add sound or make it move. Or perhaps you decide to change your idea completely – it’s totally ok! Just be sure to test it again before sharing. :o)
- Share: Shoot a video of your invention in action. Keep it between 30 seconds and 2 minutes. Upload your video to YouTube, then document your project on the Community Project Page. Be sure to use the hashtag #hackhalloween in the header and post it by midnight (EST) on Saturday, October 31.
- Wait for the win
I’ll be judging across all 5 contest categories looking for the Most Terrifying Prank, Best How-to, Best Short Film, Leading Spooky Pumpkin and Best Creepy Costume Design. Here’s a bit more about the different categories:
- Most Terrifying Prank: Unleash your invention on an unsuspecting friend, sibling, or parent and capture their reaction. Bonus points for the most blood-curdling scream.
- Best How-to: Show others how you created it so we can make it too! Sure we want to see it in action, but we also want to see the steps you took to get it working.
- Best Short Film: Aspiring storytelling, director, or cinematographer? Weave a story around your creation! Give it a plot, title, and movie star.
- Leading Spooky Pumpkin: Carving pumpkins is fun and all, but making them do something is even better!
- Best Creepy Costume Design: Creepy is cool. Gross us out or make us stare in wonder.
Hack Your Halloween Prizes
Every contest needs incredible prizes and littleBits doesn’t disappoint! The winner in each category will win a GoPro camera and a kit of their choice (up to $250). More details about the contest can be found here.
Good luck and I can’t wait to watch your movie featuring your littleBits creation!
As a guest judge, I am not being compensated but was offered a littleBits set of my choice to add to our collection.
