From Circuits to Smart Systems—Building the Foundation for a Connected World

The Tech Explorers: Intro to Electronics and IoT program teaches students that every smart device, connected sensor, and automated system starts with the same fundamentals—electricity, circuits, and code. Through forty class periods of hands-on building and programming, students develop the foundational skills that connect to careers across technology and engineering.

Students explore how electronics and IoT support professionals in fields such as:

• Electrical engineering and circuit design

• IoT systems and smart building technology

• Robotics and automation engineering

• Environmental monitoring and sensor networks

• Software development and embedded systems

They do not just learn about circuits. They build systems that sense, connect, and respond.

Science

• Electricity fundamentals—voltage, current, resistance, Ohm’s law

• Electric and magnetic field relationships

• Sound waves—frequency, period, and pitch

• Light detection and electromagnetic wave properties

Technology

• Arduino IDE programming and code debugging

• Arduino Cloud for IoT device connectivity

• Breadboard circuit construction and schematic reading

• Sensor integration—temperature, humidity, distance, light

Engineering

• Designing circuits from schematic diagrams

• Engineering design process applied to capstone challenges

• Debugging hardware and software issues systematically

• Building smart systems with real-world constraints

Math

• Ohm’s law calculations—voltage, current, and resistance

• Measuring and calculating circuit performance

• Data analysis from sensor readings and graphing results

• Mapping value ranges for analog-to-digital conversion

Arduino Education Student Kit (10 lessons):

• Getting Started—Identify hardware and software components, become familiar with Arduino IDE

• Electricity Basics—Explore circuits, conductors, insulators, resistors, LEDs, and batteries

• Ohm’s Law—Measure electrical properties, build series and parallel circuits

• Traffic Signals—Build and program a traffic light circuit using pseudocode and Arduino

• Dimmer Switch—Investigate potentiometers, analog vs. digital signals, serial communication

• Holiday Lights—Design a holiday light circuit using criteria, constraints, and wiring schematics

• Sports Robot—Build a servo-motor sports robot to hit, kick, or throw a ball

• Windshield Wipers—Explore electric and magnetic fields, switch-case structures, loops, and timers

• Musical Keyboard—Investigate sound waves, build a resistor ladder, construct nested conditionals

• Light Wave Radar—Explore phototransistors, fiber optics, and electromagnetic wave properties

• Smart Greenhouse—Design a greenhouse monitoring system using circuits, code, and sensors

Arduino Plug and Make Kit (7 lessons):

• Eco Watch—Read temperature and humidity data via Arduino Cloud with Modulino Thermo and LED matrix

• Game Controller—Add button input, emulate HID devices, use accelerometer for movement

• Sonic Synth—Generate tones using Modulino Buttons, manipulate frequency, explore arithmetic operators

• Smart Lights—Learn Modulino components, explore buttons, pixels, knobs, and cloud interaction

• Touchless Lamp—Read distance sensor data, dynamically set LED colors and brightness

• Weather Report—Connect to Wi-Fi, call a weather API, display data on LED matrix

• Hourglass—Set up timed events, produce sound with a buzzer, display animations on LED matrix