Just finished the first of our Tech Weekends.  We had a great time (and hope the children did as well!)  Most of them opted to build a laser tag game gun but Barney chose other kits and it was interesting to see what he was able to do with connecting some off-the-shelf kits.  His first one was a siren with adjustable pitch and sound effect.

'They can do it at home and at their own pace, two hours is perfect because it’s enough time to get their teeth into something without being stuck to the screen all day!'

An exciting day today; Tech Camp has taken on it's first employee (well, sort of ...) Jack has been a Tech Camp regular for several years now and has convinced me to take him on for a year as an intern/gap-year student. I'm really looking forward to working with Jack; he is not your regular 18 year old ...

This is about the third version now of our laser tag system for Tech Camp. Every time we've built a batch with kids we've made it simpler. This time we decided that we needed just one main PCB; it now has the batteries, sensors, microcontroller, LED display bank and associate circuitry on it.

Pen and paper’s worst enemy has changed the world, and doesn’t look like stopping any time soon! CAD (Computer Aided Design) has revolutionised drafting and design methods across the world, taking over from less efficient and repetitive pen and paper methods. It involves the use of computer software to design and document a product’s design process.

Does your child play too many computer games?

We often have conversations with parents who are worried their child plays too many computer games.  Is it as bad as it seems?  Believe it or not, playing computer games (within limits!) has some well-researched benefits.

If you're up for a stocking filler, (only 300 days to Christmas!), or just want to encourage a young (or old) inventor, this is one of our favourite products.  Sugru is a product that's hard to explain.  They call it 'mouldable glue'.  Think blu-tack that sets to a silicone rubber.  This means that if you can make something out of play-doh, you're qualified to use this, and what you create is not only flexible and impact-resistant, but also temperature resistant as well, as silicone rubber is the substance used to make the modern rubberised style of oven mitt.  Create grips for cables, protective bumpers for phones, wheels for your next robot, and much more.  From only £15 for a multi-colour 8-pack, it's cheap enough to buy a pack just to play with.  https://sugru.com

Our online Minecraft Inventions courses can help you play Minecraft on a new, improved level, by teaching you how to create your own gadgets and inventions - from secret floor traps to puzzles and timers.

We have been actively monitoring the situation with CoVID-19, and know that it will be a concern for all parents.  We want to share our plans and what we are putting in place for our upcoming events.

Here at Tech Camp we are often asked which programming language to learn first - it can be a very confusing subject with so many options and opinions out there! Choosing the right starting point is very important especially when it comes to children - choosing something too easy for a certain age can result in boredom, and then a lack of motivation and interest to continue.