by Savva Osipov

How to get your kids interested in programming and technology

My name is Savva Osipov. I’m thirteen years old, and I study at a middle school in Novato, California.

I have always been very good at math, and excel at it in my school classes. During my free time, I play with electronics, 3D printing, and work on my own DIY projects based on the Arduino board and Raspberry Pi. I also shoot videos for my YouTube channel.

I also decided to build my own product, a gaming console I thought of on my own and assembled using my 3D printer and Arduino. With the help of my dad, I’m launching a Kickstarter campaign in January for the gadget I’m calling the WOWCUBE. We will also be presenting and showing the invention at the largest consumer electronics event in the US (CES 2018).

How did I get inspired and motivated?

Many parents have asked my dad what he does to keep me interested in electronics, robotics, and similar things. Very simply, he keeps me motivated by continually supporting me. He takes me to many different events, like hackathons, that help spark my interest and imagination. We also work on many projects together, and he helps me with coding and other processes that sometimes require an adult.

My dad and I put together some helpful links that can help your child become more interested in technology:

Kids toys and developer boards

There’s a great variety of tech-minded apps, toys, and books. You can find anything to your taste on the Adafruit Industry website. Pay attention to Raspberry Pi powered products, LittleBits (something like LEGO), and Piper.

Attend “Hands-on” hackathons

Don’t be afraid to take part in hackathons. Organizers provide everything needed for playing and experimenting with the electronics. This is provided for free or for a very reasonable price. You’ll be able to create something new on the weekend within hours. People at hackathons are very friendly and organizers provide step by step instructions to guide you.

Here is one of the recent hackathons I attended.

Attend tech entertainment events: look up Eventbrite and Meetups.com

You can find a variety of entertaining events on the sites like EventBrite and Meetup. Search for tech for kids, kids and teens tech meetups, etc. Attending these events will help you find other teen inventors that are interested in the same things as you. Here’s my review of the recent event in San Francisco.

Building DIY projects at home

Go to Hackster.io and Hackaday for inspiration when thinking of a new project. They have videos, lists of hardware you’ll need, and many other helpful tips. Instructions for each DIY project are very detailed. You can create and upload your own project and receive feedback, also!

Taking part in contests together

Sites like Hackaday have ongoing contests during the year. Most of the contests provide hardware to create a DIY project for free. You just need to submit your project idea!

My plans for the Hologram Nova Challenge hosted by Hackster.io and Hologram
In October of this year I applied for the electronics competition organized by Hackster.io and Hologram called The…medium.com

Inspired? You can ask me questions on Twitter @cubios_inc , or follow my project progress at wowcube.com