Electronics For Kids
The rest of the day was spent taking apart computer parts and other electronics in their new favorite upcycled STEM activity. After all, not all STEM activities have to involve building something; you can learn a lot from taking things apart, too!
Electronics for Kids
Taking apart computer parts and other electronics can be lots of fun, but you also want the kids to be safe, which is why I strongly suggest that parents supervise the activity closely.
Another reason to encourage your child to take apart old electronics is that while they are removing all those tiny screws and components your child will be improving their manual dexterity, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination.
The first step of how to get your kids off electronics is to maintain a family screen time log for a week. This will help you identify which devices and apps your children use the most, be it their computer, cell phone, or iPad.
A common mistake that parents might do is to use electronics to distract younger children (particularly during mealtime). If you use electronics to keep your children occupied while you work, it will get difficult to wean them off the habit.
A simple rule when it comes to limiting electronic use is to establish media-free time. For example, mealtime is a great time to limit the use of phones. If children use electronics while eating food, they may not be mindful about what they eat. Instead, have family meals together and have meaningful conversations with the little ones. The dinner table should be an iPhone-free zone.
One of the easiest ways to get your child off electronics is to take them outdoors. Be it on evening family picnics, walks to the park, a neighborhood scavenger hunt, playdates, or basketball games, enjoying the outdoors is a quick way to wean them off devices.
When it comes to how to keep kids off electronics, the most important thing to do is to set a good example and be a role model. Children learn by observing the adults around them. If you spend too much time on the computer or your phone, chances are, your children will do so too.
After learning the basics of electronics, students will make a capstone project like railway crossing barriers, car vipers, or a spinning mop. The project is not limited to these only and students can take any other projects as well if the project uses the learning from the curriculum. The students will work on the project up to 3 sessions depending on the engagement. Craft material like cardboard, string, rubber bands and other should be provided to the student.In the first session, students will be briefed about the capstone project. Then, they will get time to ideate on the project and make rough sketches of the model they want to make. They will also list down the material required to build the project.In the second and third sessions, students will make the project.
Looking for some of the latest and greatest electronic gadgets for your tech-loving kid? If you're looking for gift ideas, these tech gadgets range from educational toys to devices made for budding coders, photographers, and inventors. Here are 15 of our favorite and the coolest electronic gadgets for kids available.
We used a range of expert factors when considering what our favorite gadgets are for kids. When researching, we considered the most important aspects, including consulting real parents and tech advisors. We also looked into its quality in:
The Fujifilm Instax Mini 9 Camera is a modern-day camera with old-school appeal for kids who love to take photos and parents who are tired of screen time. Take selfies and pictures of friends, family, and pets. Use some pictures for DIY craft activities or school projects. It produces cute little film prints (about 3 inches) instantly. Don't forget the film!
Yet, even when presented with that information, parents often won't hear of protecting their kids from the harmful effects of screen devices. "Kids love them!" they say. Yes, they do, and kids would love heroin if we gave it to them. I'm told that after the initial vomiting stage it can be a hoot!
Electronics is a branch of the science called physics. It explains how electricity can be used to carry or process information. Many products are based on electronics. They include computers, digital cameras, radios, television sets, wireless telephones, and video games. Often these products themselves are called electronics.
Many electronic products use electric signals to provide information as a number code. These products are called digital electronics. A digital camera is an example. It changes a picture into many tiny dots and uses electric signals to create numbers that describe each of the dots. Another digital electronic product, such as a computer or a printer, can also read those numbers. They can use the numbers to re-create the picture and print it or display it on a computer screen.
Most kids are still pretty familiar with DVD players, and there are a ton at garage sales! I find DVD players work particularly well because kids can follow along with the process of what happens when they press play.
Other people may have a different opinion or be afraid because of safety. As a former museum educator who worked in science museums, I have seen the way a kids eyes lights up when they explore the inside of electronics devices. More than once we had children, tweens, and teens who became so focused on the project, they lingered well past when the workshop ended. These experiences shape us, and may just inspire your child to reach further.
Kids are naturally curious about how things work, and with a new trend in hardware companies creating open source hardware products, it's a great time to teach kids about electronics. But modern technology can seem too complex to even begin to understand. So where do you start?
For the past four years I've dedicated myself to teaching electronics to beginners, both kids and adults. I have given workshops to everyone ranging from young kids in rural Colombia to hip entrepreneurs in Berlin. And I have created hundreds of articles, videos, books, and courses. If there's one thing I've learned through my experiences, it's that building hardware is easy.
Professionals in the field may balk at this claim! And of course there are super-complex areas in electronics, as in every field. But that shouldn't discourage anyone from starting out. Take football for example: Is it hard to play football at a professional level? Of course! But that doesn't stop your eight-year-old daughter from playing. The same is true for building electronics.
A solderless breadboard lets you connect components together neatly, easily, and temporarily. This makes it easy for kids to experiment and try things out without worrying about damaging parts. When they're done with one circuit, they can simply take out the wires and components and rearrange them to build another. The solderless breadboard is perfect for connecting components, and building more and bigger things.
Teach your kids the diagram symbols for basic electronic components. Start with the symbols for the most common components used in beginner circuits: batteries, resistors, LEDs, capacitors, and transistors. Explain how the lines between the components represent wires connecting the components together.
Kids don't need to understand the theory behind electronics to start building things from circuit diagrams. All they need is the circuit diagram and the components to build it. From there they can start to explore on their own. There are many open source hardware projects online, ranging from simple LED circuits to complex touch displays like the Manga Screen.
When your kids have played around a little bit with electronics, they're going to get curious and start asking "why" questions. When that time comes, it's time to teach your kids some of the basic concepts of electronics. Here are some things I like to start with:
Voltage, current, and resistance: These are fundamentals of electricity and your child will find it easier to get creative once they understand these concepts. Cartoons are always great for teaching kids, and this is a nice drawing that may help to illustrate your explanations.
If you're not sure about the details of these concepts yourself, there are plenty of resources online and in beginners' electronics books. You could even go deeper and teach them how a transistor works and what capacitors do.
But remember: Too many complex explanations can make kids feel that electronics is hard to understand. The more you can show them how things work instead of just explaining it, the better. How about showing how a capacitor works by connecting it in parallel with an LED and a resistor, and then disconnecting the battery to show how the capacitor keep the LED lit even after you disconnect the power?
Basic kits are great for starting kids out, even if they haven't experimented with breadboards first. You don't need to understand how it works to make it work; you just follow the instructions. It's a simple way to dive right into hardware if you don't know where to start.
No matter what you do, the most important thing is to let your kids do a lot of experimenting. When they know how to build things from circuit diagrams and where to find diagrams, they are in a great place to learn independently. As they build new things they will become more curious and eager to learn. Having a book available, like my book Electronics For Kids, is a great way of enabling them to learn more on their own.
Your kids probably won't understand how to build a television or a cell phone right from the start. But once they've built a few things, they might start to believe that maybe it's not that hard after all. That belief is what got me into electronics.
Cannot emphasize how important that is - I've seen too many kids over a topic already because it's dull or uninteresting. Make it fun. Make it interactive. Get them involved. I've used some specific projects from this list - -diy-electronic-design-projects-for-beginners/ - in the classroom over the last few weeks and they've worked a treat. Not least of all because we ordered pizza that day - for the boxes, I swear! - but either way, they've gone down a treat (lol). 041b061a72