I am currently reading James Gleick’s “The Information,” which I highly recommend (more on that in a separate post).  In it is a wonderful chapter on Babbage and Lady Ada Lovelace, which makes it clear how amazing her insights into what we would call programming were by placing them in their historical context.  What does any of this have to do with Arduino?  Well, I ordered our Arduino kit from the wonderfully named Adafruit in New York which was founded and is run by Limor Fried. 

I can wholeheartedly recommend the entire experience.  Ordering off the site is easy and fulfillment was incredibly speedy.  The basic Arduino Experimentation Kit contains everything you need to get going and do so without any need for soldering.  It comes with a simple plexiglass platform on which you mount the Arduino board with a couple of screws and next to it a breadboard which has an adhesive backing. All of this is accomplished in minutes.  The instructions that come along are clear and easy to follow.  The cut-out wiring diagrams are in color and fit the bread board perfectly.

From unboxing to having a running version with a flashing LED took only about 30 minutes and that is working together with our 9 year-old son.  Here is a picture of the finished project:

I am already excited to tackle the next project and am hoping to get our other kids involved as well.  In the meantime, I highly recommend you head over to Adafruit and order the kit today!

I am currently reading James Gleick’s “The Information,” which I highly recommend (more on that in a separate post).  In it is a wonderful chapter on Babbage and Lady Ada Lovelace, which makes it clear how amazing her insights into what we would call programming were by placing them in their historical context.  What does any of this have to do with Arduino?  Well, I ordered our Arduino kit from the wonderfully named Adafruit in New York which was founded and is run by Limor Fried. 

I can wholeheartedly recommend the entire experience.  Ordering off the site is easy and fulfillment was incredibly speedy.  The basic Arduino Experimentation Kit contains everything you need to get going and do so without any need for soldering.  It comes with a simple plexiglass platform on which you mount the Arduino board with a couple of screws and next to it a breadboard which has an adhesive backing. All of this is accomplished in minutes.  The instructions that come along are clear and easy to follow.  The cut-out wiring diagrams are in color and fit the bread board perfectly.

From unboxing to having a running version with a flashing LED took only about 30 minutes and that is working together with our 9 year-old son.  Here is a picture of the finished project:

I am already excited to tackle the next project and am hoping to get our other kids involved as well.  In the meantime, I highly recommend you head over to Adafruit and order the kit today!