Thank you so much for having the boys with us! I had a wonderful time with the boys and we came up with a project that I think would allow them to explore the technical field as well as their creativity. As we were discussing projects that they would be interested in making, they wanted to make calculators and robots that respond to their needs. This gave me the idea to give them a deep dive into embedded systems (i.e. designing computers performs specific actions, typically requires coding and electronics).

The project requires them to understand:

Basic electronics such as circuitry, resistance and potential difference

Algorithm design using sequences, loops and conditionals

Coding syntax, in this case the programming language C3D modelling and printing techniques

Knowing that the boys have not done any of this before, the four points below will take a while for them to master, and should fill up the first 2 weeks. In August, I am going to rely on them to create their 3D models, produce code and schematics for their projects.

Any electronics/robotics project requires common electronic parts and some specialized hardware. I am recommending the five boys to use the Arduino Starter Kit for this summer. We will not be using the manual, and we want to focus on using the parts inside the kit to produce the calculator/ robot. This also reduces the tediousness of buying each part separately.

There are several ways you can buy the kit:

RS Online for 626.58 HKD each if you buy 5 kits hken.rs-online.com

Element14 for 656.85 HKD each hk.element14.com

WECL at Sham Shui Po, or online at wecl-stem.com

As these are HK-based companies, I believe that the kits can arrive within 1, or at most 2 weeks. I understand that these kits do not look cheap, but they are great investments if you want your children to explore STEM, as the kit provides all the foundational materials for electronics, coding and 3D modelling.