With the school summer holidays fast upon us, keeping your kids entertained for six long weeks could be challenging.
No matter the weather this summer, getting your children engaged in an electronics project could keep them entertained and learning until school returns.
Using an Arduino kit from Single Board Computer (SBC) specialists Okdo, your children can create many fun electronics projects.
What is Arduino?
Arduino kits are part of a hardware and software package that allows users to learn and develop their electronics and computing skills.
They are easy to use and understand, making them perfect for entry-level, and advanced, computing projects for school-age children.
What equipment will you need?
To make some of the below projects, you will need some household tools like pliers and wire cutters.
You will probably need SD cards, jumper wires and USB cables too. Many of these items will come with the Arduino kit.
Simple interactive robot
Making a remote-controlled robot might sound complicated, but it is relatively simple with an Arduino kit. It will help children to understand some basic programming and electronics.
As for hardware, all you will need is a bread board, double-sided tape, wheels, batteries and headers.
Portable SMS device
This is a fantastic project to help children understand how smartphones work. With some simple code.
This classic Arduino Uno task can send messages to and from the GPRS enabled Arduino to a phone.
Controlled windmill
You can even add LED lights to the windmill blades, to give the project some extra pizazz in the dark. Adding a microphone to the project adds a sound-powered element to the project as well.
Blinking LED
This is an extremely simple project and a great way to get your children invested in electronics projects.
It doesn’t include any complicated code or systematic diagrams to create. Plus, you will only need some simple tools to create a blinking LED using an Arduino kit.
Traffic Lights
With some simple circuitry, it is easy to create an Arduino-controlled traffic light system. You’ll need red, yellow and green LEDs, a few resistors, switches and a soldering iron.
This could get messy, with many wires, so this project works best when it’s supervised.
So there you have it, five easy ways to keep your children entertained and learning this summer.