The Mobile City Lab was on the move again, this time heading to the Forstmeisterhaus (Forest Master’s House) in Bessungen. There, they offered a multi-part course for the media teens of the HddM (House of Digital Media Education), children and young people between the ages of ten and fourteen. This time, their colleagues from Digital City Darmstadt brought along an Arduino basics course, in which, among other things, an automatic, sensor-controlled irrigation system, the “Kressebot,” was assembled and programmed.
The three sessions in May and June were well attended, and workshop leader Michael Ibsen was delighted with how much fun the children had experimenting and crafting. He was supported by colleagues Nancy Teichmann, Anne Weisel, and Fabian Jankowski from Digitalstadt Darmstadt, as well as Marvin Ouassini from HddM.
The first session focused on the basics and the questions: What is an Arduino and what can you do with it? How does programming work? What is code? What terms are important? Afterward, the children and young people eagerly began experimenting and made an LED light blink.
The second session was able to build on these foundations, in which a traffic light system that changes from “red” to “yellow” and then to “green” was programmed.
The third meeting focused on cress and its irrigation. The goal was to automatically water a pot of cress as soon as the soil moisture level drops below a defined level. Watering should only occur when it’s too dry. Together, they developed the watering programming in the software and assembled the irrigation bot from an Arduino breadboard, moisture sensor, and water pump.
Since the time flew by and the children and young people had so much fun immersing themselves in the world of programming, everyone wanted a follow-up. The Mobile City Lab is now planning another programming workshop.
The “Mediateens” format is organized jointly by HddM and the Neighborhood Help Bessungen e.V. and takes place every Monday.
