On this occasion we suggest you to make a toy for your kids to share your workspace, is that, even though the Three Kings just left their gifts, our daughter (as is usual in children) seems to have more fun playing with our things as with hers, and since she learned to whistle the multimeter (set to check continuity), every time she has it on hand what, she brings it asking us to turn it on.
It’s been a while since the last time we wrote, and we apologize for that.
It’s been a hard time for our family, but gradually return to normal.
As there seems not very reasonable to let a toddler to click anywhere, I decided to do a toy to make the tester whistle while we work.
It is a simple game to find pairs, touching at points that are connected together.
While it is true that in order to play you must have a multimeter at home (and not everyone has it) it can be done with any broken toy at home, after all this wiring will replace the switch. Anyway this toy has been specifically made to take advantage of the interest that our daughter has in the multimetermeter and will be used under supervision, children should not play with these things if we do not know what we do.
We need a table, fat cardboard or sheet of any material (which does not conduct electricity, of course), images in couples to stick on the table, rivets with tab, cables, soldering iron, tin, hot glue and something to cover the cables behind when finished.
It’s actually so simple that needs little explanation, so I leave the pictures and little else.
1.- PVC table and stickers.
2.-Stickers placed randomly (half right and left but messy)
3.- For each rivet a hole (3mm) is made and inserted next to each sticker.
To prevent them from turning and thus can remove the cables, I glued each rivet with hot glue.
This is the look ahead:
4.- When wiring, I try to stay wires tidy and hold them with glue. Be welded on each side, or if we don’t have a welder, you can wrap the cord at the ends of the rivets and secure with silicone.
5.- Finally we cover the wired surface with felt, foam or EVA which is what I used, so they are no wires and ends in view, and does not spoil. Then I fixed the edges with masking tape.
That’s it, ready to play, match and beep all she wants, and when we use the tester, María can make use of it and have fun with us.
And besides of having fun, she is slowly making contact with these things as I did as a child.
This reminds me, by the way, a work I did in school, that time when we were sent to make a simple circuit that would light a bulb, and I (with advice from my father, of course) made a map of Spain that lighted up when you matched each province with its name … the result was that the teacher said that I had not done it …. And I said (with all my tranquility) that if she wanted the next day I would carry the materials to class and taught her to do it. Finally she let it go.