September school holidays · Ages 10–14
Five mornings. Real circuits, real code, and a kit they take home.
Not blocks on a screen. Your child builds actual circuits with their hands, programs them in Python, wires up an eight-note synthesizer, builds a plant monitor that beeps when the soil goes dry — and takes the whole electronics kit home on Friday.
Small group. No soldering, no mains power.
- 5mornings
- 10–14age range
- 8places only
- $390intro price
The five mornings
Every morning ends with something that works — and something to take home.
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1
Monday — what electricity actually is
We start with water. Voltage is pressure, current is flow, a capacitor is a balloon that fills up. Then they build a real circuit — an LED and a button — on a board they take home that afternoon.
And yes: we find out what happens when you inflate the balloon backwards. Safely, with goggles.
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2
Tuesday — the computer takes over
A Raspberry Pi Pico joins the circuit and they write their first real Python. Then their first button — which misbehaves in a genuinely spooky way until they find out why.
“My code controls it.”
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3
Wednesday — colour and music
A dial that sweeps an LED through every colour in the spectrum. Then eight buttons, eight notes: an eight-note synthesizer they wired themselves and can play a tune on.
“Listen — I can play a song on this.”
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4
Thursday — sensing the world
Light and moisture sensors, then the real thing: a plant monitor that flashes red and beeps when a plant needs watering. Tested on actual plants — one healthy, one thirsty, one long past saving.
“It tells you when to water it.”
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5
Friday — make something move, then invent
Why a computer pin can decide but can't push — and how a transistor fixes that. They drive a motor, then design and build something of their own.
Parents welcome from 12:30, when they demo what they made — and take the whole kit home.
Why this isn't a screen-time camp
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Everything is water
One analogy used consistently, so even the failures make sense before they happen. A balloon inflated backwards bursts — and so does a capacitor.
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They learn to find faults
A working circuit is easy. We teach the method for when it doesn't work — which is the skill that actually transfers.
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Real Python, not blocks
They type real code in a real editor — the same language they'll meet again in high school.
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Something home every day
A working circuit on day one, and a piece to keep after each day. Nothing gets packed away into a cupboard.
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Eight places only
Fault-finding is one-to-one work. A small group means help when they need it, not a queue.
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No soldering, no mains
Nothing hot, nothing that plugs into a wall. Everything runs on battery packs at torch voltage.
The details
| Dates | Monday 21 – Friday 25 September 2026 (5 mornings) |
|---|---|
| Times | 9:00am – 1:00pm each day |
| Ages | 10–14 |
| Where | Pimpama / Coomera area — venue confirmed on booking |
| Cost | $390 for all five mornings — introductory price for our first Gold Coast group (normally $450). Everything included, including the take-home kit. |
| Places | 8 maximum. Minimum 4 for the camp to run. |
| Bring | Morning tea, a water bottle, and a curious kid. We supply everything else. |
Experience needed: none. Day 1 assumes nothing at all. What they do need is to be able to read and to handle small parts — which is why we start at 10.
Questions
- What does my child take home?
- Something every day — a working circuit board on Monday, then small pieces after each session. On Friday they take home the complete kit: breadboard, Raspberry Pi Pico, all the components, a storage box and a printed manual, so they can keep building.
- Is it safe?
- No soldering, nothing hot, and nothing plugs into a wall socket — everything runs on battery packs at the same voltage as a torch. The one loud moment (a capacitor going bang) is done by the instructor, at a distance, with safety glasses on.
- My child has never coded.
- Good — most haven't. The code is short, it's printed for them to copy, and they change it rather than write it from scratch.
- What if they're 9, or 15?
- Get in touch. 9 is usually too young for the reading and fine motor work, and 15 may find it slow — but it depends on the child, and I'd rather talk it through than guess.
- What if it doesn't fill?
- If fewer than 4 book, the camp won't run and you'll be refunded in full. No risk to you.
Register your interest
Eight places, first in. Tell me your child's age and I'll confirm availability and send payment details.
Can't make September?
There's an eight-week course
running in Term 4 — same material, one afternoon a week. And if week 1 fills,
I'll run a second group 28 Sep – 2 Oct.