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5 do-it-yourself activities to keep children sharp

Published: 
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Technology Matters
Students learn how to build a computer-powered car at BrightPath TechCamp 2014. Photo Credit: BrightPath Foundation

Bevil Wooding

We may be in the middle of the vacation season, but students on break don’t have to head to the beach, or play video games to have fun. The extended holiday period provides a great opportunity to work on projects that build on ideas they might have learned at school or to pursue ideas they might not ever have chance to explore in the classroom. With the right investment of time, effort and resource, their ideas can easily expand from do-it-yourself projects into careers or even businesses.
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1. Build a robot

Building a robot might at first seem to be a daunting task. However, a number of new tools like LEGO Mindstorms, MOSS Zombonitron, Cubelets, Makey Makey, Makedo and Arduino make it easier than ever before for kids to learn how to build hardware. Even without any electrical engineering or coding skills, building a robot can now be as easy as assembling do-it-yourself kits or as straightforward as following step-by-side instructions from online resource Web sites such as: 

http://www.LetsMakeRobots.com

http://www.Instructables.com

http://www.RobotShop.com

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