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Ask HN: Great maker projects for 8th grade kids and above?

75 points ostaquet | 1 comments | 17 Nov 24 10:36 UTC | HN request time: 0.405s | source

As a father of a 13-year-old kid, I tried to do my best to initiate him to different aspects of life. It could be watching a documentary about black holes, building coffee table or just enjoying a simple walk in nature.

I asked to some friends if they have great project idea that could be done by an 8th grade kid with or without support. I personally like to do it with him as it is a privileged time to build something together (for me) and learn new skills (for him).

The purpose of this thread is to assemble some ideas for Christmas presents.

I’m starting…

1. DIY LED Christmas tree kit for soldering (https://www.az-delivery.de/en/products/diy-weihnachtsbaum-kit-alles-inklusive-versandkostenfrei)

2. Software Defined Radios kit (https://www.rtl-sdr.com/about-rtl-sdr/ and https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CD7558GT)

3. DIY Internet Radio Alarm clock with touch screen control (https://www.az-delivery.de/en/products/radiowecker-mit-dem-az-touch)

Any other ideas or suggestions?

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radicalbyte ◴[21 Nov 24 22:34 UTC] No.42209393[source]▶
Buy a Bambu Lab A1 Mini 3D printer. They're amazing. Then look at examples of what you can do on Youtube. Amazing! Kids nowadays have it so good.
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linsomniac ◴[21 Nov 24 23:19 UTC] No.42209699[source]▶
I've had an Ender 3 for 5 years and just got a Bambu P1S, and it's amazing how far things have progressed. The Bambu is just a workhorse, I currently have it printing Christmas ornaments to give the extended family. Where the Ender I would shy away from things unless I REALLY needed them, because I knew I'd have to spend time screwing around, the Bambu basically just works.

I bought the Ender for my son, and he put it together and helped me do some mods to it and print some things, but after about 3 months he never touched it again. Just gave it to his school when I got the Bambu.

The A1 seems to be quite a capable little printer.

Beyond just printing things you find online, learning CAD is a really fun way of turning ideas into tangible objects.

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1. radicalbyte ◴[21 Nov 24 23:26 UTC] No.42209733[source]▶
Same here. Now I have an A1 + A1 mini too. It's amazing. This is what I dreamed of when I built my first RepRap. I did get me Ender 3 working eventually but the print quality isn't as good as any of the Bambu printers and it's super slow.

The new CoreXY Prusa One is also a very good buy when it comes out but the A1/A1 mini in particular are just such a good deal at the moment.