Hey there! I’m Zoe from the Scratch Team, and today I’m excited to teach you about a super cool feature in Scratch called the Backpack. Let’s dive in and learn how it works!
The Backpack is like a magic bag that helps you carry things from one Scratch project to another. Imagine you have a character or a sound you really like, and you want to use it in different projects. The Backpack makes it easy to do just that! You can carry characters, sounds, art, and even pieces of code.
Let’s say you want to move a sprite, which is a character, from one project to another. For example, if you’re working on a new ocean project and you have a rainbow star sprite in another project, you can use the Backpack to bring it over.
First, find the Backpack at the bottom of the Scratch screen and click on it to open it. Then, click and drag the rainbow star sprite into the Backpack. Now, go to your ocean project, open the Backpack, and drag the star into the sprite area. Ta-da! The star is now in your ocean project.
You can also move sounds. If you have a cool sound in one project, go to the Sounds tab, open the Backpack, and drag the sound into it. Then, go to your ocean project, open the Backpack, and drag the sound to the sprite you want it to play with.
Have a special piece of code you want to use again? No problem! If you have a frog that jumps and you want to use that jump code in another project, just open the Backpack, drag the code into it, and then move it to your new project. Now your character can jump too!
If you like a specific costume of a sprite, you can move it too. Go to the Costumes tab, open the Backpack, and drag the costume in. Then, bring it into your new project by dragging it from the Backpack to the sprite you want to dress up.
Want a cool backdrop like a blue sky? Go to the Stage, click on the Backdrops tab, and drag the backdrop into the Backpack. Then, open the Backpack in your new project and drag the backdrop to the stage.
You can also use the Backpack to bring things from other people’s projects into yours. It’s important to give credit when you do this. For example, if you find a spinning puffer fish in someone else’s project, you can click “See Inside,” drag it into your Backpack, and then into your project.
To give credit, go to the project page, edit the notes and credits, and thank the original creator. You can even add a link to their project.
The Backpack is great for sharing and building on other people’s creations. Scratch is all about creativity and collaboration, so it’s important to give credit and make your project unique by adding your own ideas.
That’s all for today! The Backpack is a fantastic tool for making your Scratch projects even more fun. I hope you enjoy using it. See you next time, and happy Scratching!
Backpack Scavenger Hunt: Create a small scavenger hunt activity where you use the Backpack to collect different items from various Scratch projects. Ask your child to find a sprite, a sound, and a piece of code from different projects and bring them into a new project. Encourage them to create a short story or animation using these collected items. This will help them practice using the Backpack and see how different elements can come together to create something new.
Design Your Own Character: Have your child design their own unique sprite in Scratch. Once they have created it, ask them to use the Backpack to save their character. Then, challenge them to use this character in at least two different projects. This activity will help them understand the versatility of the Backpack and how it can help in reusing their creations across multiple projects.
Observation and Sharing: Encourage your child to explore other Scratch projects and find something they like, such as a backdrop or a costume. Ask them to use the Backpack to bring it into their project. Then, have a discussion about the importance of giving credit. Ask them why it’s important to acknowledge the original creator and how they can do it in their project. This will help them understand the value of collaboration and respect for others’ work.
**Sanitized Transcript:**
Hi everyone, it’s Zoe from the Scratch Team, also known as Zinnea. Today I wanted to show you how to use a really helpful feature in Scratch: the Backpack.
So, what is the Backpack? The Backpack lets you transport things from one Scratch project to another. If you have a character you want to use in multiple projects, the Backpack is great for that. You can also transport sounds, pieces of art, and pieces of code.
I’ll show you how to use it. Say you want to transport a sprite from one project to another. Let’s say I’m making a new ocean project, and in another project, I have a rainbow star sprite that I want to put in the ocean project. I can transport it with the Backpack.
The Backpack lives down here, and I can click on it to open it up, then click and drag the star into the Backpack. It’ll appear there. Then, I go back to my ocean project, open up the Backpack, and drag the star into the sprite area. Now I have the star in my ocean project.
You can also transport a sound. For example, if I have a sound in this project, I can go to the Sounds tab, open up the Backpack, and drag the sound into it. Then, I go back to my ocean project, open the Backpack, and drag the sound to the sprite I want it to go to.
You can also transport just one piece of code. For instance, if I have a project with a frog that jumps and I want to give this piece of jump code to a character, I can open up the Backpack, click and drag this piece of code into it. Then, I go back to my ocean project, open the Backpack, and drag this code to the code area. Now, the character can jump.
You can also transport just one costume of a certain sprite. If I have another project and I want a specific costume, I can go to the Costumes tab, open up the Backpack, and drag that costume in there. It will appear as a costume. Then, I can go back to my ocean project, open the Backpack, and drag the costume to the desired sprite.
You can also transport a backdrop. If I wanted a blue sky backdrop, I could go to the Stage, go to the Backdrops tab, open up the Backpack, put this backdrop inside, go back to my ocean project, open up the Backpack, and drag this backdrop to the stage.
You can also use the Backpack to transport things from other people’s projects. When you do this, it’s really important to give credit. For example, if someone has made a project with a spinning puffer fish and I want to use it, I can click See Inside on their project, open up the Backpack, drag the puffer fish in, and then drag it into my project.
To give credit, I can click See Project Page, edit the notes and credits of my project, and say thanks to the original creator for the puffer fish. I can copy the link and paste it in the credits.
The ability to remix and build on the creations of others has been an important part of Scratch since it started. It’s wonderful to have an online community where you can build on other people’s creations. It’s important to give credit and to make sure you change or add something to make your project unique.
Anyway, that’s what I wanted to show you today. The Backpack can be very useful and great for collaborating. It’s perfect if you have a logo or character that you want to use in many projects. I hope you have fun trying it out. I’ll see you next time, and Scratch on!
