Hi folks,
As much as I loath the winters in New England here is where I'll be. Outdoor activities, while doable, can only be for short periods of time. Therefore I'm looking for projects that can be completed indoors that are interesting and take 6 months to complete. :) (Long winters up here...)
My son has shown an interest in both electronic and mechanical type projects. He'd like a hammer for his birthday so he can break rocks. Cool, geologist. Can't find rocks too well under the snow and ice, sand and salt, in the wintertime.
He'd also like an electronics kit but I'm not sure what to to get him that will last a long while. I think at this point he's more interested in building something, electronic or not, rather than learning theory. He often mentions robots but to get something that would last for months would cost me more than the budget allows.
I'd certainly appreciate suggestions and I'm sure there are other parents who might benefit from your experiences!
(Score: 2) by richtopia on Thursday October 13 2016, @09:17PM
The project needs to have a strong enticement for an 8 year old. So something that can be improved is ideal; it is fun to begin with but you can research changes within your grasp. Also, it helps cut the project into manageable blocks. Spending 6 months on a project is tricky even for adults to stay motivated, but a week long project is easily managed without much forethought.
Maybe something like a quad copter, particularly if you have a 3d printer you can try different geometries for the structure. Then there is all of the different hardware configurations to go with it. Same concept for many of the other suggestions in this thread.