Learning Electronics through lightsaber building

[Shaye Whitmer]

I've been teaching basic machining through the building of light sabers. Kids learn these skills

Usage of a dremmel,

Mitre Saw (not required but useful if using metal) 

Soldering

leds

voltage

currents and amperage

Here is a pic from day one

[Marisa Meeks]

Awesome! Can you provide some details about how you're teaching amps, volts, circuits in particular? Wish you were my teacher - I'd love this now, let alone as a kid!!

[Shaye Whitmer]

I couch it all in the language of leds. LED's have a specific number of volts required to get them to light. 

most take about 3.4V but since reds require 2.4v to light up this brings in resistance.

This brings in wiring circuits in series or in parallel. Series increases voltage, parallel increases available amps. Knowing when to use them is the trick.

This brings up the idea of why and how to we used battery packs and why do you in fact need multiple batteries and are they in fact in series or parallel and why.

[Shaye Whitmer]

Here are some pics of the illuminated light sabers, I'll try to get hilt pics today. Some of them went home and didn't make it back yesterday.Hope they come in today.

[Angie Oliverson]

Seriously cool. I would have gone to that class in a heartbeat!

[Shaye Whitmer]

If you want a written instructions on how to do it all, here it is.