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Ask HN: How to teach my five-year old electronics?

3 points by fastbeef ↗ HN
Starting next month I'm going to have a 30 hour work week. I want to take this extra time and spend with my family and one of the things I would like to do is to encourage my five-year old sons interest in electricity and electronics.

I've chosen to not go down the Arduino/Raspberry Pi road (computers will come later), nor the Mindstorms road (to pricey and I'm afraid he will treat it as just another Lego kit).

What's the best way of introducing power source, lamps, resistors and capacitors? Are there good kits available? Should I make my own kits? I'm guessing a prototype board and an assortment of components would be cost effective but some kind of guidance would be nice as well.

9 comments

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brudgers
Battery, bulb, wire, fingers?

It's not about the knowledge. It's about the time together.

Good luck.

perilunar
Yes!

Also motors — kids love moving toys and a couple of small motors means you can make cars and fans and stuff.

mcgrath_sh
It is awesome that your son has an interest in this stuff! What in particular fascinates him? I have always found it is easiest to have kids learn when it not just something they are theoretically interested in, but also has a practical application. Does he find flashlights cool? If so, build your own. Find a way to apply what he is learning and see if he can use it to solve a "problem" around the house (is a door open that shouldn't be, or make a signal his chore is complete or needs to be done).
tmaly
I have a 4 year old and I second snap electronics kits. It is much easier to let them help you snap together pieces than it is to deal with a bread board.

I plan on teaching bread board a little later in life.

b_emery
My son got pretty excited about these very simple projects after we somehow got onto a string of youtube videos about 'hacking' toy cars. For example:

How to Make a Solar Powered Toy Car at Home - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_an8AlywBrQ

There are many others out there with just a motor, a few wires and a battery. I try to explain how things work as we go along.

tarr11
I think like devnonymous says, SnapCircuits are a good choice. They aren't breakable and can be quite fun to play with.

But, to be honest, 5 is pretty young for them to grok a whole lot. Most of this at this age is really about building something with you. You'll be doing most of the work, and they'll just be mastering the physical aspects of it. Don't try and explain or expect too much as it can be very frustrating to them.

Mindstorms isn't really going to help much and Arduino / pi should wait until 7 or 8.

Another good choice is Minecraft Redstone Circuits. Most kids love it and it provides an immersive way for you to build electronic systems together.

(I run a program teaching kids coding + robotics in the bay area, happy to answer more questions if you have them! contact info is in my profile)