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5 ways to get started with coding for kids

I, EEME Dad, make hands-on kits to teach kids robotics, electronics and coding. Here are my thoughts on how to teach kids coding.

As an infant, we learned our first language by speaking as soon as possible. We slurred our words. We spoke the wrong phrases. But that’s OK. Our parents and peers happily corrected us and helped us improve. Only much later in grade-school life were we taught about sentence structure, verbs, nouns, prepositional phrases. Despite not knowing grammatical rules as a toddler, we never stopped from speaking in our attempt to master the language. It all started with the Nike saying - “Just do it”.

Similar to how we learned our first language, learning to code should involve kids coding in a real programming language as soon as they can type, at roughly 9 years old. They are developmentally ready to move past the blocky drag-and-drop “teach your kids to code” applications. They are ready to “just do it” in the world of programming for real.

What programming language should your kid learn first? After all, if the parents speak English, there’s no reason why to teach the kids to speak Russian as their first language. We believe your kid should learn C++, Javascript, and/or Python. These three languages are fundamental to any technology present today and emerging tomorrow - from websites to self-driving cars.

Now comes the challenge. How to get your kids started in learning one of these programming languages. Here are our suggestions.

1. Learn Python with Minecraft

Minecraft is video game that allows families to create and maintain a virtual world of cube elements. If you have a Raspberry Pi, your family can learn how to use Python code to program interactions with the Minecraft world. If you don’t have a Raspberry Pi, you can use check out this Instructables post on how to learn Python with Minecraft. Lastly, for those people who like books, Learn to Program with Minecraft: Transform Your World with the Power of Python is a great start.

2. Learn Python and Javascript with Tynker

Tynker is an online platform to teach kids coding. They have a number of online courses to teach kids Python and Javascript.

3. Learn Python and Javascript with Codecademy

While not specifically for kids, Codecademy has a web-based interactive lesson curriculum for Python and Javascript. The price is right - it is free. If your kids resonate with an adult-tone, then Codecademy will be the perfect fit.

All the previous suggestions are purely online. The next 2 suggestions teach coding in a more hands-on, learn as you build, manner.

4. Learn C++ coding with Arduino

Arduino makes a number of “computer” boards which you can program. Technically, these boards are micro-controller boards but the difference is out of the scope of this post. Of the boards they make, the most popular has to be the Arduino UNO board. You can use the Arduino programming application (ie the Arduino IDE - Integrated Development Environment) to program the UNO board using a C++ like programming language. Additionally, this IDE application comes with tons of example code to learn C++ and write the programs that enable your Arduino UNO board to do many cool fantastic things. The caveat is you will have to track down and purchase the auxiliary sensor, electronics parts needed to get the examples to work (ie you need to buy LED’s and resistors to run a light blinking example, buy a motor to run the motor turning example). Very rarely will a standalone Arduino UNO board be sufficient to run the more exciting examples.

5. Learn C++ coding with EEME

EEME makes “not-so-easy” hands-on kits + online lessons to teach kids robotics, electronics and coding. Our EEME robotics series uses an Arduino compatible UNO board to teach your kid C++ and electronics theory while they build and enhance their own personal robot. Each project in our robotics series is paired with its own set of online lessons to not only show your kid how to assemble the robotics project, but it also teaches them how to write the code, teaches them how the code works. Each project comes with all the parts needed to build and learn. No prior robotics or coding experience is necessary. As a matter of fact, families can learn robotics, electronics and coding together! We also provide support and resources to use EEME projects in a group, co-op, camp, class setting where multiple kids can collaborate and mentor each other.

The list above is far from comprehensive. Does your family use another resource to learn coding? We’d love to hear from you!

Thanks and happy building!

Jack “EEME Dad”

#teaching kids coding #arduino #stem #homeschool

New Speed Sensor Add-On Kit for Q the Robot

While EEME prides ourselves on making “not-so-easy” robotics kits for kids, without the right sensors on our Q the Robot, it can become “more-like-impossible” to make Q the Robot to do certain things autonomously.

Specifically, if you are not looking directly at your Q the Robot, it can be impossible to know if your program to turn Q’s wheels actually results in Q moving.

Our new Speed Sensor Q Add-On kit solves this problem. By attaching speed sensors directly on Q’s wheels, we can write code to programmatically detect how fast and how long Q’s wheels have been spinning.

As with all EEME hands-on kits, the Speed Sensor kit also comes with its own set of online lessons to not only show your family how to build the project, write the speed sensor code, but also teaches them how the sensor and code you wrote works.

For those who already have the Q the Robot, UNO Board Add-On and NPN Motor Driver Add-On, you can purchase the Speed Sensor directly.

For those new to our Q the Robot series, you can add-to-cart the base Q the Robot kit plus the required 2 Add-On’s as a Q Bundle with special pricing. Then add-to-cart the new Speed Sensor Add-On.

We are really excited about this add-on. Combined with the UNO Board, NPN Motor Driver, and Obstacle Sensor Add-On’s, you can really get your Q the Robot to do many fun challenges such as seek and engage various obstacles in your Q’s environment.

For those running Robotics Camps and Co-ops, we would love to work with you to see how Q can help your edu organization. We have training materials and program suggestions for a number of different classroom scenarios.

Don’t hesitate to reach out - dad AT eeme DOT co (not com).

In the meantime, happy building! Jack “EEME Dad”

#robotics kits for kids

New Q the Robot Lesson - Pulse Width Modulation

When I created EEME, I wanted it to be more than just kits and parts. EEME (pronounced EE-mee, acronym for Electrical Engineer Mechanical Engineer) is an educational vehicle to convey complex robotics, electronics and coding concepts to our kids. With EEME kits + online lessons, concepts that are not-so-easy to understand when read from a book or paper, become much easier to grasp when learned while hands-on building and coding.

Pulse Width Modulation is one of these concepts whose name alone can seem daunting.

Visually, Pulse Width Modulation looks like this... (what the heck??)

Fear not! We are happy to announce that we just published a new lesson about Pulse Width Modulation to teach your family how to write the code and apply the concept for your Q the Robot.

This new lesson does not require any additional purchases if you already have a Q Bundle kit (which includes Q the Robot, the UNO Add-On and the NPN Motor Driver Add-On). Woot! Feel free to log in and start learning how Pulse Width Modulation can enhance Q.

For the future, in addition to new sensor Add-Ons for Q, we plan on releasing additional lessons that can make use of the existing Q components you already purchased.

This makes Q an extremely extensible resource for your family to use to learn not-so-easy concepts in robotics and coding.

As usual, don’t hesitate to reach out with questions or suggestions!

Thanks! Jack “EEME Dad” and the EEME Team

PS - we are a small shop. Please help us spread the word about EEME by writing about us online, sharing our free lessons to friends and family!

#robotics for kids #raisinglearners

Sneak Peak: Varying the motor speed on Q the Robot

Something we’re working on...

#robotics kits for kids #raising learners

New Obstacle Sensor for Q the Robot

Make your Q the Robot more aware of its surroundings with our NEW Obstacle Sensor Q Add-On.

More Add-Ons to come for Q the Robot!

Happy building! Jack “EEME Dad”

PS - please help us spread the word about EEME by sharing our free online lessons to friends and family!

#robotics kit #kids #raising learners

Connecting Robotics and Coding to a Sustainable Future

By 2050, 10 billion people will be living on Earth. It has been scientifically measured that if we only grew grain on all the arable land on this planet, the maximum number of people we can feed is 10 billion.

I’m an engineer, an educator and an entrepreneur, but I’m also a dad. And like many parents (and engineers, educators, and entrepreneurs), I reflect on the state of the world with concern for our and our kids’ futures. Humanity is facing an imminent and multi-faceted crisis. But for me, while the crisis is aggravated by political, geo-economical, and environmental, and social issues, the main cause is something much more fundamental.

There are currently 7.7 billion people on this planet. As comfortable Americans, most of us are not starving because 12% of the world is starving and 50% live in poverty, earning less than $2.50 per day. It is unequivocally our obligation to advance the global standard of living. But doing the right thing puts us in a Catch 22 where Earth would inevitably be uninhabitable.

While this paints a dire scenario, I am optimistic as a technologist. Even today, extremely smart people are working on solutions to increase agricultural productivity, create more sustainable energy sources, explore ways to extract resources from asteroids and other terrestrial bodies, and inhabit Mars or other planets. The solution may not even be obvious in the early 21st century, because its discovery is more likely than not a multi-generational journey to be picked up by our kids and grandkids.

While the solution still alludes us, I see an obvious common pattern. All our efforts apply a core set of technological disciplines—machination, robotics, and software. Teaching these disciplines to our kids will give humanity its best chance of survival.

As most of you know, the company I run, EEME, makes hands-on kits + online curricula to teach kids robotics, electronics and coding. When I started EEME five years ago, I simply wanted to fill a hole in hands-on STEM education and create a product to teach kids robotics, electronics, and coding. I was primarily inspired by recalling my own childhood and becoming a new dad interested in the edu-resources available today.

But now I believe it is EEME’s duty to make a greater impact on the future of humanity.

Many of today’s kids lack the affordable, educational resources necessary to truly understand the myriad applications of robotics and coding. EEME is working to remove these barriers, creating a generation of inspired kids who are equipped and energized to take on some of the world’s most challenging problems.

In short, EEME’s mission is to foster future innovators in the fields of robotics and coding.

I am super excited to explore EEME’s impact on our future and am even more excited by the enthusiasm and capacity of EEME’s families and kids. Thanks for being the brilliant hope for a compassionate and sustainable future.

Jack “EEME Dad”

#robotics for kids #electronics for kids

Program Q’s UNO to intelligently turn its motors

Since the launching of EEME’s Q the Robot project kit + online lesson a couple of months ago, we’ve touted the Q robotics series to be an extendable platform for your family to continuously build out, enhance, and learn from.

Following the launch of the base Q robot kit, which builds a photovore robot that autonomously follows light, we subsequently launched the first add-on to enhance Q with an Arduino compatible UNO computer board. With the UNO board, your family can program Q and learn how to code with various coding lessons we also provide with the UNO board add-on.

We are excited to announce the launch of another add-on module + online lessons called the NPN Motor Driver Q-Add-On. This add-on module enables the UNO board to measure the amount of light hitting its light sensors and controls Q’s motors directly.

With the online lessons for this NPN Motor Driver add-on, we not only show your kids how to modify Q’s circuitry, but more importantly we will have your kids code up Q’s new capabilities and we explain how it all works! As with all EEME projects, you can create a free account to preview the NPN Motor Driver's online lessons.

Intro online lesson video for the NPN Motor Driver add-on

While this NPN Motor Driver add-on requires only a small handful of additional electronics components - which results in a purchase price of just $2.95 (!!) or comes bundled with the Q + UNO bundle - it’s impact to what Q can do is limitless. By enabling Q to control its motors through programming its UNO board, we are set up to add a whole slew of Q sensors (to be launched in the upcoming months) which allow Q to react to its environment in an ever more intelligent manner.

Q driving its motors to some tunes

As usual, we really appreciate you learning with us. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thanks and happy building! Jack “EEME Dad”

EEME (pronounced EE-mee) makes learning-kits to teach kids electronics, robotics and coding. Each learning-kit is a hands-on project + a set of online lessons to not only show your kid how to build the project but also teaches them the concepts applied.

#robotics kits for kids #photovore robot

What makes EEME different from wet sand

While at the beach, I often find myself impressed by the kids exercising their creativity erecting elaborate castle structures using just their hands, some buckets, and an active imagination to shape the wet sand.

Kids are curious about everything and are instinctively creative and expressive. When I created EEME, I didn’t want to make another STEM product that only nurtures creativity. Along with wet sand, there are plenty of edutainment products that are highly successful at putting fuel to a kid’s creative fire. Instead, what I find lacking from those edutainment products are lessons that explicitly teaches something.

Sand does not teach your kid the engineering concepts involved in creating housing structures. That is EEME’s main differentiation from sand as well as other products. With each EEME project kit, we include a set of online lessons to explicitly teach your kids the concepts applied in making the project. We explicitly teach about why the resistors make the LED dim, why an LED continues to shine after the battery’s pulled with a capacitor in the circuit, how transistors work, etcetc..

The teaching is extremely important and the lack of is a hole we wanted to fill. We want kids to understand and learn how things work. The understanding enables our kids to transcend creativity and become ingenious.

With the impressive marketing of modern day edutainment STEM offerings like Snap Circuits, littleBits, LEGO Mindstorm, Kiwi/Tinker Crate, and many more, we forget that it does not require much to inspires kids to shape and make. Arguably a simple “toy” like wet sand fosters creativity just as effectively as anything else you can purchase with a five-star rating off Amazon.

As we continues to develop electronics and robotics kits, know that we are dedicated to actually teaching your family. This way, when your kid wires up an LED to their sand castle, they will know exactly why the LED went out when the tide washes over their creation. Sand castles can’t stand erect forever, but whatever they learn can.

As always, please reach out - [email protected] (dot CO, not com). We are always happy to hear your thoughts and opinions.

Thanks and happy building (and learning!), Jack “EEME Dad”

#raisinglearners #electronics #robotics #kits #kids

6 ingredients for cooking up electronics and robotics

While cooking the other day, I realized my family had about 40 different spices and seasonings in our cupboard. I regularly cook with about 10 or so. My wife, who is more of a baker, uses about 30 or so. As a chef, that’s a lot of input ingredients and complexity to consider. Yet, we are generally not intimidated by cooking and we all do it.

Turns out, when considering the complexity of input ingredients, circuit design is way simpler than cooking. Unlike cooking ingredients, circuit designers use effectively 6 fundamental components - that’s right SIX - to build and design any modern day tech gadget of any variety.

(Top left to right: resistor, capacitor, inductor, diode, transistor. Bottom: wire)

Wire - this is what you use to connect components together. It is also the fundamental building block for something like a light bulb which is effectively a very fine piece of wire (ie filament) that emits light and heats up when electric current flows upon a flick of the switch.

Resistors - as its name suggests a resistor resists electric current. Like how a river dam controls and limits water current flow down the river, the resistor limits the amount of electric current flowing through our circuit. As an example, by controlling electric current, we can limit how bright an light bulb shines.

Capacitors - this component stores and provides electric energy much like a water reservoir can store and provide water when needed. Sometimes voltage drops because your battery or wall outlet is not a perfect source of electric energy and on occasion the voltage can drop temporarily - say when the vibrating motor on your phone kicks on. During this moment of voltage drop, the capacitor can make up the temporary loss to prevent your phone from resetting. Additionally, without diving into detail, a capacitor’s ability to store electricity makes it an essential component to convert the alternating current (AC) from your wall outlet to a stable direct current (DC) needed to say, charge your cell phone.

Inductors - this component also stores electric energy but in the form of a magnetic field. It is the fundamental building block for an electro-magnet, which is the building block for an electric motor.

Diodes - in a wire, electric current can flow in either direction - from one end or the other. Such is the case with alternating current (AC) coming out of your wall socket - current is moving back and forth. Simply speaking, a diode is a one way traffic officer that allows electric current to only flow in one direction. Combined with a capacitor and resistor, you have a circuit that can convert AC to DC - a circuit in every wall adapter you own. Additionally, diodes have another amazing property for a totally different yet pervasive application. When electric current passes through a diode, the diode can emit light which is the fundamental property of light emitting diodes better known as LED’s.

Transistors - due to similarities in construction, a transistor is a cousin to diodes. While diodes directs electric current to only flow in one direction, transistors can control when/if electric current can flow through. In other words it’s a switch. For a mechanical switch, like a wall switch, when it’s on, the switch closes the circuit and electric current can flow through the switch. The switch toggle is mechanical - meaning, you physically need to turn it on or off. For a transistor, the toggle is electrical. Depending on the voltage applied to its electric toggle, the transistor switch turns on or off. Imagine a transistor switch that controls if/when another transistor switch turns on/off, that controls another transistor switch and so on. That chain or topology of how the transistor switches wire together in a circuit define it’s functionality. Does the circuit implement a simple calculator, timer? Or perhaps this circuit (of millions of transistors) implements a modern central processing unit (CPU) in a computer or smartphone.

With these 6 components, you can create anything from a simple light circuit to a modern day computer. Your creativity limits the possibility of what you can cook up.

So while considering the ingredients to use for my next dish, I happened to burn the first dish I was prepping. Point is - if you don’t view cooking as a monumental skill, then you have no reason to be intimidated by circuit design.

Thanks and happy building! Jack “EEME Dad”

#electronics #robotics #raisinglearners #kitsforkids

Q the Robot: Adventure into Learning Robotics

EEME makes hands-on projects paired with online lessons to teach kids robotics and electronics.

As you may have already known, Q the Robot is a hands-on project kit for your kid to build a photovore 3-wheeled robot that autonomously follows light.

The Q project kit is also paired with its own online curriculum of about 30 video lessons 2-5 minutes long. The lessons not only show your family how to build Q but, more importantly, explain how Q’s autonomous circuitry and mechanical systems work.

Here are some sample lessons:

You can preview Q’s online lessons by creating a free account (with the account you can also access our free interactive online lessons to teach electronics and fundamental circuit building).

Q the Robot also becomes the platform for additional robotics enhancements such as adding an Arduino board and various other sensors.

You can read more about our plans to have Q immerse your kid into robotics, electronics AND coding in the recent post we published.

Q the Robot is available for purchase. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. As usual, please help us spread the word about EEME by sharing EEME with other families who are interested in robotics and electronics.

Thanks and happy building! - EEME Dad

#robotics #electronics #kids

Projects + lessons to teach kids robotics & coding

EEME makes hands-on projects paired with online lessons to teach kids electronics.

Each project uses discreet electronics components - ie capacitors, transistors, resistors, etc - to build circuits such as night lights, buzzer alarms, motor drivers, and much more. Each project's suite of online lessons shows your kids how to build the circuit, but more importantly, teaches them how the circuit works.

Given our mission to teach kids electronics, we always knew we’d inevitably cross into the realm of robotics and coding. And now the time has come. Dum dum dum!!

To springboard us into the world of robots, we introduce Q the robot - the first of a series of robotics related project kits. Your family’s first mission is to build Q as a photovore robot - a 3-wheeled motorized robot that autonomously follows light that you shine on it.

You may have already seen a prototype of Q on EEME’s Facebook page. But in case you haven’t check out Q in action following a flashlight.

Like with all EEME projects, Q’s online lessons will not only show your family how to build Q as a photovore robot, but we will also teach your family how the robot's autonomous circuitry works.

Unlike the current EEME electronics kits, the series of Q related projects will not be based on a monthly subscription (at least not yet!). Your family has the option to purchase each project individually.

Ok great, Q’s a photovore. What’s after Q the photovore robot? Q follows light with some pretty nifty circuitry, but still uses individual electronics components. No coding is involved.

We follow up Q’s launch with the 2nd project + online lessons to add an Arduino board enhancement for Q. This will introduce coding and microcontrolller support for Q paving the way for...

... the subsequent launches of a series of sensors and detectors to add to Q so it can do more awesomely autonomous things using the Arduino.

We will pair each of these Arduino sensor sub-kits with their own online lessons to teach your family how the circuits work AND how to code and use the sensors. With Q, your family will be able to build an autonomous robot and learn how to code.

In summary, expect these to be available in the very (very!) near future:

Q the photovore robot

Arduino main board add-on for Q

(in no specific order) Arduino bump sensor add-on for Q

Arduino remote control add-on for Q

Arduino motor controller add-on for Q

Arduino distance sensor add-on for Q

... and many more

The Q projects will be for kids 10 years and older. Your family will have to build, screw, plug, code(!), so will require relatively developed motor skills.

We are super excited at this new roadmap of project kits around Q the robot in addition to our current offering of electronics kits. In the future, Q will merge with our current set of hands-on electronics kits but that’s for another blog post. =)

You can purchase Q the Robot at $39.95! We will also try our very best to keep each subsequent sensor / arduino kit under $40.

In the meantime, please share, send us email - [email protected] (dot CO, not com) - with your thoughts on this new project and/or help share this news with other families who might be interested.

Thanks and happy building! - EEME Dad

#teaching kids electronics coding #robotics for kids

Rounding out sound with Project Filter

EEME makes hands-on projects and online lessons to teach kids electronics. Project Filter is the latest addition to our monthly hands-on project kit subscription.

Ever wonder how graphics equalizers work? Or how some buzzer tones sound harsher than others? Project Filter brings light to all these questions.

With Project Filter, your family will learn about:

Square waves versus sine waves

Filtering sound

Current versus voltage

As with all our hands-on projects, Project Filter is paired with its own online video curriculum to not only show your family how to build the circuit but also teaches them the concepts applied.

Previewing the entire video curriculum for Project Filter (as well as all our projects) is free. Just create a free account and you can check out all the videos which is best way to determine if EEME is a fit for your family.

As usual, don’t hesitate to reach out - [email protected] (dot CO, not com) - with any questions.

Happy Building! -EEME Dad

PS - please help us spread the word about EEME by writing about us online, on our Facebook page, sharing our free online lessons with friends/family.

#teaching kids electronics #electronics kits for kids

Building a VU meter with electret mics and Op-Amps

EEME (pronouced ee-MEE) makes hands-on project kits and online lessons to teach kids electronics. We introduce you to another project in our monthly project subscription - Project VU. In Project VU, your family will build a circuit that measures the loudness of an environment, a device popularly known as a volume unit (ie VU) meter. The VU meter is used by musicians, sound technicians, and implemented in almost every single stereo device.

Each of our monthly projects are paired with online lessons to not only show your kids how to build the project but more importantly, teach them how the circuits work.

While you family builds the VU meter, they’ll learn about:

Electret Microphones - we have to detect the sound some how!

Op Amps - used to amplify the mic signal. The Op Amp is another wildly popular IC chip used just about everywhere in the world around us.

Using capacitors to pass the mics signal to the Op Amp - also known as coupling.

Access to Project VU’s online lesson is free - along with all our online lessons. Just sign up for free access. Here’s a sample of the intro video lesson to VU.

As usual, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out - dad AT eeme DOT co (dot CO, not com).

Thanks and happy building! - EEME Dad

PS - please help us spread the word about EEME by writing about us online, on our Facebook page, sharing our free online lessons with friends/family.

#electronics kits for kids #teaching kids electronics #homeschooling

Interview with EEME Dad

EEME was recently approached by iLEAD Explorations, a homeschool / home study school, for an interview about EEME Dad and EEME. The interview was published in their Monday Message to their community. Given that many families have asked about EEME’s history, we decided to post the interview here on our blog as well. Enjoy! Jack “EEME Dad”

Tell us about your background in electronics. First off, let me present a general introduction. My name is Jack Pien and I am the founder of EEME (pronouced ee-MEE) which is an acronym for Electrical Engineer Mechanical Engineer. EEME teaches kids electronics with hands-on project kits. Each project kit is paired with its own online curriculum to show the kids how to build the project and, more importantly, teach them how the project works. Our website is - http://www.eeme.co (that's dot CO, not com).

I have a degree in Computer Science from Dartmouth College and worked in various San Francisco/Silicon Valley tech companies for over a decade before starting EEME. My exposure to electronics ranges from having worked as an architect and/or software engineer at circuit chip design companies such as NVIDIA, Intel, and AMD to having a hobbyist enthusiasm for designing guitar tube amplifiers, guitar pedals and building robots. How, when and why was EEME created? EEME is almost four years old, and my son is almost four. As a new parent, I started researching edu resources available for kids these days. I learned about Khan Academy, Udacity, and Coursera. At the same time, I was spending my non-parent hours just building fun robots absorbing the Make movement.

These two exercises had me recall my own childhood where I was constantly taking apart calculators, electronic devices and playing with Radio Shack electronic kits. I recalled being frustrated with not knowing how any of these kits or the parts laid out in front of me worked since no one was able to teach me.

Yet 3+ decades later, in the 21st century, there still was no edu resource that paired hands-on project kits (that has become pervasive with the Make movement), with the ubiquity and distributability of online video lessons (that has become pervasive with the MOOCs movement) to teach the kids how the projects work. Hence EEME was born to fill that hole.

Do you create the kits? How do you decide which ones to purchase or develop?

I do create each of the project kits as well as design the lesson curriculum. A lot of it is inspired with, well, tapping my own childhood enthusiasm by just looking around and, rather than taking for granted, say, how a night light works, trying to dig in and understand exactly how it works. Then the exercise becomes designing the functionality with a circuit that is simple enough for a kid to make, that is simple enough to explain in a handful of 2-3 minute video sequences, and that uses safe and easy-to- handle electronic components (I'd love to create a guitar tube amplifier project but that will require 200+ volts of electricity which is probably not going to fly with the safety criteria!).

Why/how is this so important to a child's future?

There is a lot of talk of STEM, STEAM, arts vs science/math, etc. I think people miss the point. EEME is not even about the electronics. It's about learning through hands-on building - preferably building something that's actually applicable to our everyday world - versus just reading about it in a text or in a lecture by a teacher. Being hands-on is intimate, as it fosters curiosity and the reward of understanding how it works becomes tangible. Childhood hands-on building establishes a foundation to be curious and suppresses the fear of doing/making as a child grows into adulthood. And as I watch my parents age, a youthful curiosity that hands-on building nurtures can help an adult transition into their later stages of life as well.

Do you offer classes and/or how would a homeschool mom get the support she needs to conduct these lessons?

A family can learn with EEME by subscribing to our monthly projects. Each month, we ship them a bite-sized project to build and learn from. They can also purchase one of our feature project kits (like the Project Amp where a family builds and learns about how a speaker amplifier system works). Each monthly project and feature project is paired with its own online curricula to show the learner how to build the project and teaches them how it works. Everything is included in the kits down to batteries and stripped wires. Parents can learn with the kids as they build together!

We don't (currently) offer classes but some homeschooling families have expressed interest in using our kits for workshops where groups of kids get together to build. If that's something the families want to explore, we'd love to have a conversation. Please email me - [email protected].

How can someone find out more about what you have to offer? We also have free online lessons to teach electronics which simulates circuit building. Visit our site and here to sign up. From our site, you can also learn about our project kits. You can preview the online lessons for mostly all our projects.

So, if a family is unsure about EEME as a fit for their learners, sign up via our website to: (1) check out the free online lessons and (2) have your kids watch the first couple of video lessons from one of our monthly kits and you should be able to get a feel for fit. You may also email me directly - [email protected]. We welcome any family to reach out!

#interview #teaching kids electronics #electronics kits for kids

Jammin’ Guitar on Project Amp

EEME teaches kids electronics with our hands-on project kits and online lessons. Specifically, through building our Project Amp, we teach your kid about how a speaker amplifier system works.

Many parents have asked if their kid can plug their guitar into the built Project Amp.

The short answer is YES!

The longer answer is yes - but with minor additions to Project Amp's circuitry.

We designed the Project Amp kit to be used with a music player, smartphone. The output from these devices have slightly higher voltage levels than a guitar pickup. What that means is that we tuned the Amp’s circuit to accommodate those levels. While you can plug a guitar into the “stock” Project Amp, the volume would be very low because the guitar pickup’s output level is much lower than that outputted from a smartphone / music player.

Fortunately the modifications to Project Amp's circuitry to increase the amplification - or in electrical engineering talk to increase the “gain” - those modifications don’t require drastic measures. It should be just some additional components added to Amp's original circuit design. As a matter of fact, these circuit modifications become a great follow up lesson about amplifier feedback and how feedback can control the gain in an amplifier circuit.

We are working out the parts and lessons needed to follow up the Amp project with the “guitar mod” addition but here’s a video of a working prototype. Stay tuned for additional updates.

For a limited time - we will provide the guitar mod addition for FREE with the purchase of Project Amp!

So if your family is looking to work on the project, don’t hesitate to pick one up. Purchase Project Amp with our 6-month Project Amp subscription where we pace your family to build the project over six 1-hour sessions (6 sessions total).

By the time your kid completes the main Amp build, we’ll have the guitar mod ready to be sent to you!

This video was, for reasons out of the scope of this write-up, super hard to shoot!? In any case, please reach out with any questions!

Thanks and happy building! - EEME Dad

#teaching kids electronics #electronics kits for kids #guitar amp

Make some noise with a 555

EEME makes hands-on projects and online lessons to teach kids electronics. The 555 integrated circuit (IC) is one of the world’s most popular IC’s. With Project Pitch, our newest project addition to our monthly hands-on projects, we get back to making some noise - this time with the 555 IC as the proponent.

In Project Pitch, your family will build a tone generator circuit and learn about:

The relationship between blinky lights and sound

Difference between speakers and buzzers

Astable multivibrator circuits

While a monostable multivibrator circuit will turn on then off upon a trigger. An astable multivibrator circuit will continue to alternate between on and off then on again... forever, or until when the battery runs out. This, in effect, will generate a tone out of the speaker. Interest piqued?

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Thanks - EEME Dad

PS - please help us spread the word about EEME by writing about us online, on our Facebook page, sharing our free online lessons with friends/family.

#teaching kids electronics #electronics kits for kids

Monostable Multivibrator Circuit

EEME makes hands-on projects and online lessons to teach kids electronics. Teaching electronics would not be complete without the introduction of an integrated circuit or IC for short.

In EEME’s Project Touch, currently project #13 in our monthly project subscriptions, we’ll be introducing the most popular IC of all time - the 555 timer IC. With Project Touch we’ll use the 555 timer to create - brace yourself for a mouthful - a monostable multivibrator circuit.

A monostable multivibrator circuit basically turns on upon a trigger - via a button push, sensing motion, sensing sound, etc - and then automatically turns off after a period of time.

Why is this important? There are hundreds of appliances and devices - toaster ovens, motion sensing lights, car alarms, to name a few - that make use of a monostable multivibrator circuit.

To sweeten the pot, we will also create a touch sensitive switch as use our trigger!

Want to check out Project Touch’s online curricula? Just sign up (for free) / sign in to your dashboard.

Have any questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out - [email protected]!

Thanks and happy building! - EEME Dad

PS - please help us spread the word about EEME by writing about us online, sharing our free online lessons with friends/family.

#teaching kids electornics #electronics kits for kids #555 timer #monostable multivibrator circuit

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