On Wed, 13 Jul 2011 10:54 -0700, "PICdude" wrote:
> Cool memoir, but I'll have to disagree with this opinion.  I know kids =20
> too, but not just from one lifestyle, but from several different =20
> lifestyles, families, upbringings, environments, etc.  These include =20
> nieces & nephews in different countries, friends' kids, and =20
> high-school kids I've worked with and still work with from various =20
> schools).  Everyone is different.  VERY different.

I volunteered a few months ago at the Exploratorium on an OpenMake day.
I brought parts and tools and showed people how to build Human Detectors
(Resistor, LED, 9V battery and a couple of transistors on perfboard). It
was basically a soldering lesson and introduction to how a schematic
diagram can represent a physical circuit. It was a project from when I
taught electronics, but instead of a lab full of students all building
them at once, this time it was one at a time, with me helping fulltime.

It's amazing how much variation there is in people. Everyone gets it in
a different way. Most had never seen a soldering iron before. Experience
with tools had some bearing on how well they did, but not as much as
you'd think. Average time spent on each was about 15 minutes.

In the end, a dozen or so people went away with Human Detectors and
there were no cuts, burns or bruises. Age range was 5 to 60 and an even
balance of male and female. They all tested human :)

What Adam is doing is really good. Getting people to do something new,
hands-on, will always trigger a spark in a small percentage of people,
you never know who.

Best regards,

Bob

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