TIG is a gender-neutral electronics toolkit for children’s storytelling and collaboration, inspired by the different leaaning styles of girls
Existing STEM educational tools for children are mostly male oriented or based on preconceived ideas about females interests which contributes to an existing problem of gender imbalance in these technical disciplines. In response, TIG is designed to promote a lasting enthusiasm for technical explorations in everyday environments for children around the age of 9-11 years, both female and male, being inspired from the differences in learning styles of girls.
The toolkit is designed for allowing children to attach electronic components to everyday objects, transforming them into characters of stories, which fosters creative thinking and storytelling abilities.
Central elements of the toolkit are two Microcontroller-hearts that, being attached to any kind of objects, can bring to life the children’s stories by powering sensors and actuators. Collaboration, central aspect of the project, is enabled by the hearts which equipped with Wi-Fi capable microcontrollers exchange sensor data. To foster collaboration, children must pair up and create a concept that includes two hearts reacting on each other’s sensor data. The sensors were being selected based on their ability to measure attributes in everyday environments like humidity, temperature, or incoming light which allow to connect the explorations of technology with familiar things and experiences.
| University | Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, TU Delft |
| Type of project | Semester project within the context of the Design for Interaction master program |
| Maker(s) | Anne Arzberger |