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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: 0.207s | 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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sunshinesnacks ◴[22 Nov 24 00:36 UTC] No.42210148[source]▶
I soldered one of these with my 6 year old: https://thepihut.com/products/3d-xmas-tree-for-raspberry-pi. They seem to be out of stock, but maybe you can find them somewhere else.

Fun, quick project. With my kid, I healed the iron and they held the solder. I’m guess a 13 year old could do more (or all) themselves.

Then there are options for tweaking the program, like different patterns, a “count down” to Christmas, etc.

replies(1): >>42217071 #
1. RyanOD ◴[22 Nov 24 20:19 UTC] No.42217071[source]▶
There are a lot of these simple soldering projects out there.

Our daughters completed a few. At a minimum, they now know how to solder and have an appreciation for electrical components. That was all I was hoping for at such a young age.

Should either ever decide to study electrical engineering, I feel they will be less intimidated having had this experience.