Workshop ideas
Below are some maker projects that could be completed in 3 hours (with a break in the middle for about 20 minutes).
Description: This is suitable for students in upper primary to secondary schools. Workshop requires some pre-prepared kits of this laser spirograph machine. 3D printed parts could be replaced by cardboard and use of hot glue gun to build the machine case. Building this machine could take an hour or more in the first half of the workshop. The second half of the workshop can continue with building if needed, but mainly for students to investigate further about spirograph through coding in Scratch.
Material cost: AUD$20 per kit/student
More information: https://sites.google.com/view/makerclubqut/maker-projects/laser-spirograph-machine
Description: This is suitable for students in upper primary to secondary schools. Students will first make a coil with enamelled copper wire to light up a LED on top of a wireless charging pad. They then investigate about wireless power transmission by making a power transmitter coil and a receiver coil to light up an ornament in the night time, such as a crystal light.
Material cost: AUD$10 per student
More information: https://sites.google.com/view/makerclubqut/maker-projects/jack-o-lantern
Micro:bit projects
Below are projects require a Micro:bit. The workshop could provide Micro:bit for in-workshop use. But if participants wishes to take away one, they could purchase one for AUD$30.
3. Guitar
Description: This is suitable for a range of school students from primary to secondary, depending on the depth of coding and utilisation of onboard sensors, and design of music. Students will design own musical instrument (e.g., an electrical guitar) and develop their systems thinking (the parts, connections and functions of a guitar) and code event driven actions (sounds). An external speaker is much better but optional. The Micro:bit v2.2 has a built-in speaker to play music, which is ok for testing. Then for better sound, a speaker can be connected. Some aligator clips and foil will be required. iPad will be provided for coding in workshop.
Material cost: AUD$5 per student.
More information: https://makecode.microbit.org/projects/guitar
Description: This is suitable for both primary and secondary school students depending on the use of coding LEDs, and actuators (e.g., a servo motor). Simple setup using two nails could roughly measure the soil moisture by the electrical conductivity of soils relative to how wet it is. A soil moisture sensor may be used at extra cost of AUD$2.- Servo (SG90) costs AUD$4 and LED costs between AUD$5 to AUD$10.
Material cost: Between AUD$8 to AUD$15
More information: https://makecode.microbit.org/projects/soil-moisture
5. LED fun - wearables
Block Coding with Micro:bit
Arduino projects:
The following project requires an Arduino UNO R3 or Nano R3. They can be provided in workshop or the participants can purchase UNO R3 for AUD$10 or Nano R3 for AUD$6
Introduction to Microcontrollers with Arduino IDE (Microcontroller 101)
Arduino IDE installing Boards, pasting the following into Preferences --> Additional boards manager URLs
http://arduino.esp8266.com/stable/package_esp8266com_index.json
https://dl.espressif.com/dl/package_esp32_index.json
https://github.com/earlephilhower/arduino-pico/releases/download/global/package_rp2040_index.json