awebsite/public/search_index.en.json

[{"url":"https://aron.petau.net/project/","title":"Aron's Blog","description":null,"body":"Find all my projects here.\nThey are sorted by date, you can also filter by tags.\n","path":null},{"url":"https://aron.petau.net/project/einszwovier-löten-leuchten/","title":"einszwovier: löten und leuchten","description":null,"body":"\n\n\n  \n    \n      \n      \n      \n      \n        \n          \n        \n        \n          All the led Lamps together\n        \n      \n    \n      \n      \n      \n      \n        \n          \n        \n        \n          The Guestbook: a quick Feedback mechanism we use\n        \n      \n    \n      \n      \n      \n      \n        \n          \n        \n        \n          Tinkereing with only simple shapes\n        \n      \n    \n      \n      \n      \n      \n        \n          \n        \n        \n          More Lights\n        \n      \n    \n      \n      \n      \n      \n        \n          \n        \n        \n          Some overmight prints\n        \n      \n    \n      \n      \n      \n      \n        \n          \n        \n        \n          A completely self-designed skier\n        \n      \n    \n  \n\nLöten und Leuchten\nA hands-on course in soldering, electronics, and lamp design for young creators\nLöten und Leuchten has now run in three successful iterations — each time offering 5th and 6th graders a guided yet exploratory dive into the worlds of electronics, making, and digital design. At its core, the course is about understanding through creating: introducing young learners to tangible technologies and encouraging them to shape the outcome with their own ideas and hands.\nThe Project\nOver three sessions (each lasting three hours), participants designed and built their own USB-powered LED lamp. Along the way, they soldered electronic components, modeled lamp housings in 3D, learned about light diffusion, and got a direct introduction to real-world problem solving. Every lamp was built from scratch, powered via USB — no batteries, no glue kits, just wire, plastic, and a bit of courage.\nThe children began by learning the basics of electricity through interactive experiments using the excellent Makey Makey boards. These allowed us to demonstrate concepts like conductivity, input/output, and circuitry in a playful and intuitive way. The enthusiasm was immediate and contagious.\nFrom there, we moved to the heart of the project: cutting open USB cables, preparing and soldering 5V LEDs, and designing enclosures for them. The soldering was always supervised, but each child did their own work — and it showed. There's something deeply satisfying about holding a working circuit you assembled yourself, and many kids expressed how proud they were to see their light turn on.\nDesigning with Tools — and Constraints\nFor 3D modeling, we used Tinkercad on iPads. While the interface proved very accessible, we also encountered its limits: the app occasionally crashed or froze under load, and file syncing sometimes led to confusion. Nonetheless, it provided a gentle, well-mediated entry point to CAD. Most kids had never touched 3D design software before, but quickly began exploring shapes, tolerances, and fitting dimensions. The lamps they created weren’t just decorative — they had to functionally hold the electronics, which added a very real-world layer of complexity.\nThe printed shades were all done in white PLA to support light diffusion. This led to organic conversations around material properties, translucency, and light behavior, which the kids quickly absorbed and applied in their designs.\nReal Challenges, Real Thinking\nThe project hit a sweet spot: it was challenging enough to be meaningful, but achievable enough to allow for success. Every child managed to finish a working lamp — and each one was different. Along the way, they encountered plenty of design hurdles: USB cables that needed reinforcement, cases that didn’t fit on the first try, LEDs that had to be repositioned for optimal glow.\nWe didn’t avoid these issues — we embraced the