In this 3-part workshop, students were introduced to the basics of air quality and the different types of pollutants we measure and regulate. Students then built simple air quality monitors to track the concentration of ozone, carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter. We deployed these monitors outdoors for …

Modern hobbyist sensors provide for many fascinating projects around physiological sensing. Here we suggest the use of the popular Myoware sensor together with a simple microcontoller and servo motors for the creation of a demo bionic arm.

Firstly, the students are introduced to the inspired-by-nature "tendon driven robots". By using …

This is an “exploratory math” outreach activity, specifically aimed at dispelling the thrall of math phobia. There are two parts to that phobia - thinking that math is impossible to learn and that it is dull. Everybody agrees mathematics is useful, but less commonly appreciated, mathematics is something you can learn …

The activity can be run simply as a soldering workshop, but it can also be used to teach additional topics. One can discuss how the human eye works (rod cells and three types of cone cells), discuss how computer screens work (studying screens under a magnifying lens, RGB color spaces …

In this activity students design a multicolor LED bracelet that responds to their movement. They learn about color theory, light, and even kinematics and vectors. Depending on how advanced they are, one can discuss trigonometry, even series expansions.

The students have complete freedom over what the response of the bracelet …

In this activity, participants design an attachment for a flower pot, complete with water sensors, irrigation pump, and red LEDs to help the plant grow. For the control of this “Programmable Garden,” participants will program a microcontroller (a simple computer) called an “Arduino” - the “brains” of the garden.

There is …

The students will be designing a small robot equipped with light sensors and capable of tracking sources of light shining in front of it. The provided kits have two light sensors, two motors, a few simple electronic elements for control (with explanations how those work), a board on which to …