Interested in building your own Arduino robot? For me, it has been a fun project to do with my kids. We built our first the robot using the PiBot robotics kit. Additional iterations utilized Legos, Sumobot Jr, cardboard, and other materials around the house. It’s fun to invent your own Read more…
Looking for a fun weekend project? The Sumobot junior is a fun open source robot kit using Arduino and JavaScript. If you already own an Arduino, this kit can be an inexpensive way to tinker with robot building. (i.e. about $50) Since the plans for the chassis are open Read more…
http://www.coderbot.org/ – This project details open designs, plans, and software for building your robot with Raspberry Pi. The computer vision features and teaching resources are impressive. http://sumobotkit.com/ – This is the first open source robot design I tried. I uses Arduino and continuous rotation servo’s. It’s a great weekend project. Johnny-Five: Using JavaScript Read more…
Thanks to projects like Code.org and MIT Scratch, students can encounter ideas from computer science using rich puzzle interfaces. Using these puzzle interfaces, students grow their skills of creativity and critical thinking while building something fun. Puzzle based programming interfaces put emphasis on the student learning sequencing, loops, and connecting appropriate Read more…
I’m always looking for new ways to play and build with my kids. In the Rosario house hold, we enjoy building stuff with Lego’s. My kids have also enjoyed playing with Lego Wedo and Lego Mindstorm kits at our makerspace. For many families, getting access to a Lego Read more…
I love it when I find a tool that combines my two favorite hobbies: music and computers. A gifted programmer named Sam Aaron has created an engaging tool for teaching music and code to makers young and old entitled Sonic-Pi. The tool delightfully blends an introduction to Ruby programming and Read more…
As my kids get older, I have enjoyed finding ways that we can learn together, get inspired, and be entertained as a family. To my surprise my little boys have really enjoyed Nova documentaries. As a “big kid,” I find these stories very motivating and insightful. I Read more…
Are you looking for a way to introduce young makers to computer programming? Programming by puzzle piece has become very popular user interface to help empower novice users to code. You can find this programming interface in products like Scratch, MIT app inventor, LearnToMod, and tools at Code.org . Read more…
Some things just belong together like peanut butter and jelly. As I have been building Lego toys with my kids, I started to wonder if you could connect Arduino stuff to Lego stuff. While my kids really enjoy the Lego Wedo and Lego Mindstorm, those kits can be rather Read more…
Good morning! I hope that you and your family had a Merry Christmas! I hope you have a happy new year! To our regular readers, I want to thank you for being a part of our community. In 2014, many of you actively contributed to building SparkMacon MakerSpace. Our community Read more…