Our friends at SparkFun, the DIY electronics company, are serious about eduction. The past couple years they’ve left their base in Boulder, Colorado, and hit the road, visiting schools along the East and West Coasts and showing teachers and students the wonders of microprocessors and programming.
Now SparkFun has launched a campaign to spread the word to the rest of the country — with the goal of making electronics education part of our nation’s basic curriculum. The Kickstarter for the SparkFun National Tour needs to raise $150,000 by December 19. The money will be used to send a team of instructors to all 50 states. At each stop, they will donate a SparkFun Inventor’s Kit Lab Pack worth $1,250, and conduct day-long training sessions for teachers, librarians, and after school enrichment educators.
The SparkFun team shows educators how the DIY technology available today can fulfill state and federal STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) requirements. If they reach their funding goal, they’ll be able to visit as many as 300 locations.
For contributors at the $75 level, SparkFun will send a Learn to Solder Simon Says kit. For $150, backers can get a Special Edition Inventors Kit, including an accelerometer and LCD. And for $2,500 or more, SparkFun will bring their Tour to your town.
I’ve worked with the SparkFun Inventor’s Kit on my own, and I’ve sat down with Jeff Branson, a member of their Department of Education, and gotten hands-on instruction on how to use it. As an electronics newbie, I can tell you that having a real, live person show you what to do can make all the difference.
GeekDad readers know how important it is to educate the next generation about electronics. Help SparkFun bring the tools and knowledge to classrooms everywhere!
