Teaching children concepts in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics is extremely important as the world is becoming even more dependent on people with those skills. To help achieve this goal, Leyla Tawfik, Serena Cangiano and the Ethafa team came up with a series of interactive learning solutions that they call “STEAMMIANS.” Each one targets a particular subset within the field of electronics and their first, “Eolim,” is focused on guiding kids ages 9-11 on how to use certain kinds of sensors to perform various actions.

Eolim consists of a large PCB that acts as a shield for the Arduino Nano 33 IoT, as it’s equipped with a microphone, a color sensor, two LEDs, and a pair of touch points on its surface. The 3D-printed case allows the shield and Nano 33 IoT to slot in alongside a breadboard for connecting other components to one of several exposed GPIO pins. 

Because of the focus on experiential learning, the accompanying app enables users to go on certain “adventures” where they are instructed to follow directions to create a circuit. Programming can be done through either a block-style interface (akin to Scratch) or via the Arduino IDE for more advanced users. Finally, data can be read from the device and displayed within the app.

To learn more about and/or back the Eolim STEAMMIANS kit, check out the Kickstarter campaign here.