Bright Wearables with Debra Ansell

hansamann — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 17:00:20 +0000

In this episode, I am talking to Debra Ansell – she’s the creator of the blog Geek Mom Projects and the founder of Bright Wearables – they sell hackable and customizable accessories for kids.

Debra is a technophile mom of three boys and always looking for new projects to tackle. I love what she wrote in the about me section of her blog: \“I decided to start blogging because, as Adam Savage of Mythbusters says: “…the only difference between screwing around and science is writing it down.” \“

Images: (c) Debra Ansell – used with permission

So her blog, geekmomprojects.com, is filled with creative projects ideas for those who want to make stuff together with their kids. Most projects include some kind of LED lighting, laser-cutting or the popular BBC micro:bit. The projects Debra shows you to make also look really terrific, check the shownotes at kidslab.dev for the links to the Teeny Tiny Edge-Lit Trophy or the Edge-Lit Pendant for example. Some of the projects will require you to get access to a laser cutter, so now you have finally a really good reason to sign up for the makerspace close to you!

Debra turned her passion into a business and is also the founder of brightwearables.com. There, she is selling bags and backpacks that contain colorful circles of light that you control with code. Kids can code these bags themselves and use their new knowledge of coding to design and display personalized patterns that reflect their mood. I love the fact that their creations are meant to used in everyday life – as a backpack or as a stylish accessoire you carry around and show others.

Coding-wise, their kits are powered by the micro:bit and a specially designed, so-called “Bright Board” is the accessory you need to get started with the micro:bit. The Bright board gives the micro:bit access to the RGB leds and also provides power to the micro:bit and the accessory board.

Shownotes

The Crafty Kid’s Guide with Helen Leigh

hansamann — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 19:30:00 +0000

In this episode, I am talking to Helen Leigh – she is a creative technologist, author and maker with a focus on playful use of new technologies. For this episode, we’re focusing on one of her creations, which is The Crafty Kid’s Guide to DIY Electronics – a book she has written which is filled which awesome projects for parents and their kids.

Helen is so many things in one person: hacker, writer, musician, presenter, educator, artist & nerd. If you take a look at her recent tweets, you’ll see that she’s really doing so many diverse things.

Besides having written multiple books, she’s also publishing for Hackspace Magazine, National Geographic and Intel. For the Royal Court of Oman, she has created a Design, Coding, and Electronics Course and over in Europe, in London, she lectures on electronics, physical computing, and music technology.

Images: Copyright Helen Leigh – used with permission

She is also creating creative technology products with a focus on education – one example is the MINI·MU glove. It is a make-it-yourself musical glove for kids. It is a collaboration between herself, the musician Imogen Heap, Pimoroni and the MI·MU glove team. This kit uses the popular, versatile BBC micro:bit to create a friendly, simple and fun crafty code experience.

A bit more info about the Crafty Kid’s Guide to DIY Electronics – a book she published with McGraw Hill: it includes 20 DIY projects and the first part of the book begins with super easy to make paper circuits – those are easy circuits that use typically copper foil and it helps your kids to understand the basics of electricity in a really fun way. Next she introduces soft circuits using conductive thread, wearables and then finally robots. The book is really filled with great explanations, too and it’s very inspiring to read.

wearable electronics – KidsLab

Bright Wearables with Debra Ansell

Shownotes

The Crafty Kid’s Guide with Helen Leigh

Shownotes