I did some electronics with my 9yo nephew. The main problem was that his
expectations were driven by what he could buy in the toy shops. Things built
on matrix board like light operated switches and AM radios with earpieces
didn't cut it at all. He wanted to build things like a radio controlled car.
I'm not sure what I could have done better. Any suggestions for next time
would be appreciated.
I used to love capsela, sort of like lego but bigger and with wires,
lights, motors, etc. I used to have a simple computer so you could program
things like:
forward polarity to motor 1 and 2 for 1 period
forward polarity to motor 2 for 1 period
lights on for one period
reverse polarity to motor 1 and 2 for 3 periods
etc
Obviously it didn't talk about polarity, it was just backwards and
forwards, but you quickly realised that by swapping the red and blue wires
you achieved the same thing.
I imagine that by now there would be some sort of remote control.
It also gave an introduction to mechanics, 1 gearbox went fast but wouldnt
move any weight, another one was slower but could carry stuff.
-- Michael Heydon