Build-it! Science Family Day 2012

10BitWorks will be participating in the Witte Museum Build-it! Science Family Day on Saturday, February 25, 2012. We will be providing some interactive exhibits, including:

Prusa Mendel 3D Printer

• printing small trinkets for kids to take home.
• i'm printing a few other things to show off like a knurled bracelet

Squishy Circuits http://blog.makezine.com/2012/01/17/squishy-circuits-sylvias-mini-maker-show/

• vary the pitch coming from an attached transducer by stretching this homemade dough-like substance
  • may need more than a 9v battery to power the buzzer. i only hear a small click when i first connect.
• roll your own circuits using the homemade dough-like substance

Piezo-electric Crystals http://blog.makezine.com/2008/07/31/how-to-make-piezo-crystal/

• charge up capacitors
• connect to analog pins on Arduino and translate voltage into sound and light
• tap crystal with small metal rod or try to use sound waves from your mouth to generate voltages!
• need to find soda ash or cook up some baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to break it down to sodium carbonate

Arduino 101 kit demo

• to drum up interest in an Arduino 101 class for kids
• take a sign up sheet to contact interested families when we hold the class

knightridersoldering

• solderless bread-board only so the next kid can re-build it
• need to put in jumpers before-hand or else it may be too hard for the kids?

We figure since the 3D printer may be slow or get stuck at times we'll have two things up front where the kids can actually mess around and play: the Squishy Circuits and the Piezo-electric Crystals. Time permitting we may also have some Arduino kits and the knight-rider circuits as well.

Coordinator: Mike Perez

Volunteers at the event: Mike Perez, KC, Nick, Meghan, Chris, Sophia+Nina, and Jeff (tentative)