Learn About Redstone

What is redstone? Redstone is a very useful material in Minecraft that can be found deep underground. You can find it in caves or by digging. Finding redstone is special. It’s relatively rare, and you can only dig it up with a pickaxe made of iron or a greater material. Using redstone, you can create lights, open doors, and build devices that lift stones, raise bridges, or move water. It all starts with simple building blocks and power sources that you bring together to create the tools you need. How do I build with redstone? When you dig a block of redstone, you obtain a substance called redstone dust. This has many uses, but most commonly, it carries power signals between items. To create a redstone wire, place redstone dust on blocks next to each other. Wire doesn’t do much on its own, but when you combine it with signal producers (buttons, switches, or pressure plates) and signal consumers (doors, lamps, and note blocks) you can make some exciting contraptions and creations. Where can I find some examples of items to build with redstone? Feel free to explore some redstone tutorials at redstone.minecraft.net, or others that students created and posted to YouTube. You can also find many other tutorials and examples around the internet. What can my students do to get started with redstone? Have your students research a list of items and creations that can be built leveraging the power of redstone. Students can categorize this into difficulty tiers or in terms of time required. Or, have all students build a lamp and let the students complete a series of objectives requiring redstone creations to achieve their goals. Students can make powered rail roller coasters, minecart dispensers, combination locks, and more.