The young and the old were invited at an interesting event in Strijp-S Eindhoven during The Dutch Technology Week. This event was organised by The Modelling Association in Eindhoven, Architecture Lessons, and Permanent Future Lab. It presented the 3 months work of 150 children from primary schools (10-12 year old) in Best.
Video 1 . The overall presentation for the elements of the event
Trains are a good theme for a starting point in understanding the science behind this project. It is not as easy as it may seem at the first glance. The oval circuit was split into four sections. Each section was split itself again into four work areas. Each work area was given for setting up to a group of children with an adult supervisor. The work time per week was fixed during school time.
Video 2 . The presentation of a section of the train circuit
They managed to:
- do computer design in 2D and 3D for the scenery;
- find the suitable materials for the scenery and then perform laser cutting;
- design and implement the electronics behind it, using also a microcontroller.
Video 3. The presentation of another section of the train circuit
Personally I wouldn't have been able to participate at such a project at an age of 10-12 years. The children need to comprehend the electronics behind the scenery and the train track. The electronic elements are connected like in a LEGO game with Little Bits. They are color coded, magnetic and reusable. The DIY project also uses the computer of the size of a swipe card, version 2.0, from The Raspberry Pi Foundation The behaviour of each electronic building block in the circuit is checked firstly in the software environment.
Video 4. The hardware has a solid software behind it
The presentation during The Dutch Technology Week showed also a small video with how different hardware parts are put together by children, under supervision.
Video 5. The hardware requires focus on every small detail
The scenery has walking paths with one material, the water with a glassy one, the houses have different material for roof and the walls, and the trees are carefully designed. There are also people featured, in such a small size that one can barely keep the figurines in one's hand. It was a pleasure attending this event.
