Arduino for Kids

Book excerpt: A cool guide to help kids develop robots and electronics About This Book Get clearly-written code with descriptions and comments that explain each code section The book comes with separate code files, one entire program at a time, as well as many diagrams and separate downloadable files that contain colored photos explaining steps in the book Kids can build multiple projects during the course of the book; by the end, they will have working projects of their own Who This Book Is For This book is for children aged 9 and up, and their parents, who may or may not have a technical background. This book is tailored around the central idea of introducing electronics as a fun and a curiosity-inducing exercise. This book can act as a bonding exercise between parent and child over a single weekend. What You Will Learn Write simple programs using variables, functions, loops, arrays, and libraries Set up the Arduino and understand its internal functioning Get to grips with connections in electronics and arrive at ways to connect various components yourself Delve into various sensors and their selection and build your own sensor Unravel the concept of resistors and capacitors along with understanding the physics of electronics Become an inventor through interactive exercises (such as making a friend happy with a proximity sensor, and giving "life" to a plant) In Detail The mission of this book is to integrate technology with the tools that children already use for crafts so that they feel that the technology is an extension of their playtime. We use coding, sensors, and micro-controllers integrated with art and craft supplies, origami, and Playdough. There are 10 fun-filled chapters that talk to children directly, and give clear instructions for non-technical parents too. We use Arduino as the controller of choice due to its easy availability and large community. By the end of the book, children will comfortably be able to set up their Arduino, read and understand code, manipulate code, and ultimately write their own code for projects. They will also be able to use basic sensors and know how components connect to each other. All the learning takes place with lots of colorful pictures and the circuits are neatly presented using wiring. Style and approach This book will show you the glamour of common and easily available sensors, so that kids and parents waste no time searching for parts. We provide simple yet fun projects with step-by-step instructions that make it easy to get hands-on.