Make Learning Fun For Your Kids, Get Them An Arduino Starter Kit

If you have a child who is interested in computers and how electronic gadgets work, then, the perfect Christmas gift you could him/her might be the Arduino Starter Kit.

The arduino starter kit is a do-it-yourself electronic components kit with a beautiful manual that teaches you and your child how to build cool simple and even sophisticated electronic gadgets. And when you are done with the projects in the manual, you can proceed to building more complex and useful gagdets, like an FM transmitter, a drone and a remote controlled toy car (though you'll  need few more components for them and a manual like 20 unbelievable arduino projects)

But straight out of the box, just with manual in the kit, you and your child can do the following electronic projects (as listed on their official site):

01 GET TO KNOW YOUR TOOLS an introduction to the concepts you'll need to use this kit
02 SPACESHIP INTERFACE design to control panel for your startship
03 LOVE-O-METER measure how hot-blooded you are
04 COLOR MIXING LAMP produce any color with a lamp that uses light as an input
05 MOOD CUE clue people in to how you're doing
06 LIGHT THEREMIN create a musical instrument you play by waving your hands
07 KEYBOARD INSTRUMENT play music and make some noise with this keyboard
08 DIGITAL HOURGLASS a light-up hourglass that can stop you from working too much
09 MOTORIZED PINWHEEL a color wheel that will have your head spinning
10 ZOETROPE create a mechanical animation you can play forward or reverse
11 CRYSTAL BALL a mystical tour to answer all your tough question
12 KNOCK LOCK tap out the secret code to open the door
13 TOUCHY-FEEL LAMP a lamp that responds to your touch
14 TWEAK THE ARDUINO LOGO control your personal computer from your Arduino
15 HACKING BUTTONS create a master control for all your devices!

And if you think you are too old for this and not convinced that your child will enjoy working with it, then here is a comment from a grandpa on how he and his grandson are enjoying making stuffs with arduino. (Gotten from Amazon) --

I had seen articles about the Arduino online and in some magazines, so I put it on my Christmas list. My wife said she didn't know what I needed, so I should make up an order. I searched for Arduino-compatible items and ended up buying some $165 of stuff to play with, including a book, and then went back and got some more stuff and a second book. (Don't tell my wife--I told her $100 would do it.) I started through the tutorial in the book and became more interested and impressed with the capabilities. I told my 12 year-old grandson about it and he came to visit and learn. He told my daughter he would like to buy some Arduino items with money he had earned and she agreed he could. I had also promised I would share some of my items with him.

Well, he did a better job of searching the Amazon items and found this kit. My daughter called and asked me to look at it online. My first reaction, before seeing the description, was that it might be more money than they would want to invest if they weren't sure. However, upon reading the details, I began to get really annoyed. There are considerably more capabilities in this kit than in all the stuff I bought--and the kit includes a book of tutorials describing what you're doing very nicely [for less than $100].

I went to my daughter's home to see his kit and looked at the book and became more frustrated. The list of items it has that I didn't is depressing. After I had told my wife about it, she told me (!) to go ahead order the kit and enjoy it. So I did and now have two Arduinos.

BTW, go to the sporting goods department of a discount store and get a clear plastic fishing tackle box, as used to hold lures and small items. Otherwise, the parts get mixed together and finding what you need is a real chore. I bought a box that is about 10 x 14 inches, with adjustable dividers to make compartments of various sizes.

What's wrong with the kit? The only thing I can think of is the book is in smaller type than is convenient for someone with (mumble mumble) year-old eyes. I can read it, but I wish it were larger. It is also bound as a paperback and it would be nicer if it were spiral bound so it would lie flat.

Well, the other thing wrong is that my grandson is about eight projects (chapters in the book) ahead of me and there is not a way I can catch up. That I have a PhD and have been teaching electronics for thirty plus years isn't helping my ego at all. Maybe I'll go over when he isn't home and spill his tackle box.

And as for how you can get one. Fortunately, it is one of the non-book items Amazon now allows to ship to Nigeria. You can buy it on Amazon and have it shipped directly to you in Nigeria. And very fast too. Like in a week.

You can also buy it from Arduino's official store,