Week 9 — Fireflies & Exploding Ducks

Focus Concept: Radio synchronisation and local communication
Mini-Project: Exploding Ducks (multiplayer radio game)

Connections to STEAM Learning

  • Computing: We explored how radio messages let devices share information wirelessly and react to events.
  • Science: We connected this to how fireflies synchronise in nature—simple local rules leading to complex group behaviour.
  • Maths: We used timers, random numbers, and conditional logic to control outcomes.
  • Engineering & Technology: We designed and tested a small networked system that communicates reliably in real time.

This week linked biology, science and computing.
We began by observing how fireflies communicate using light and how they manage to flash in rhythm without a leader.
Then we applied the same idea with the micro:bit radio, finishing with a lively multiplayer game called Exploding Ducks!

Objectives

  • Understand how local communication can lead to synchronised patterns.
  • Use the micro:bit radio to send and receive messages.
  • Practise variables, random values, events and conditions.
  • Build and test a multiplayer game that reacts in real time.

Success Criteria

  • I can describe how fireflies synchronise using simple local rules.
  • I can explain how a shared radio group allows devices to communicate.
  • I can use a timer to trigger an action when it reaches zero.
  • I can test and debug a multiplayer radio program.

Key Vocabulary

  • Synchronisation — matching timing or rhythm with others.
  • Local rule — a simple instruction each device follows on its own.
  • Radio message — data sent wirelessly between devices.
  • Event — something that happens and triggers code to run.
  • Variable — a stored value that can change.
  • Random — producing unpredictable outcomes in code.
  • Condition — a true/false test that controls decisions.

Part A — Fireflies and Synchronisation

We started with a short discussion and demonstration:

  • Watched the interactive Fireflies simulator to see how individual rules create group patterns.
  • Explored the MakeCode Fireflies project and predicted what would happen as timing or brightness changed.
  • Linked this to how computers and sensors coordinate without a central leader.

💡 Key idea: each “firefly” follows a small local rule, but together they create a shared rhythm.

Part B — From Fireflies to Radio

We connected the biology idea to computing by using micro:bit radio.
Participants discussed how devices “talk” over a shared group, and how events and variables control behaviour and timing.

Part C — Exploding Ducks (Build & Play)

We built a simple multiplayer game where one player holds an invisible “duck” with a hidden timer.
Players can shake to pass it on; if the timer ends, the duck “explodes” and that player is out.
We tested in small circles, then as a whole group.

🧠 This reinforced events (shake/receive), variables (ID, timer), and fairness in radio communication.

Resources

  • Fireflies simulator: Link
  • Fireflies Makecode Project: Link
  • Exploding duck Makecode Project: Code
  • MakeCode Editor: Link
  • Micro:bit Radio Reference: Link
  • Glow of Love: The Secret Language Fireflies Use to Find Mates: Video
  • The Surprising Secret of Synchronization: Video
  • What’s Behind The Firefly’s Glow?: Video
  • How do fireflies create light?: Video

Equipment

  • BBC micro:bits + USB cables (or simulator)
  • Laptops / Chromebooks with internet access
  • Batteries (for untethered play)

Safety & Setup Notes

  • Use a shared radio group for this session only to avoid interference.
  • Ensure clear floor space when playing the multiplayer game.
  • Keep cables tidy during programming time.