Author Archives: Ian Fogarty

Atlantic Canada Innovation Fair 2023

Current Gen students were asked to run a soldering station at the Brilliant Labs Atlantic Canadian Innovation Fair. The tables were busy all day long, even as students were being called to get on the buses to go home, we were still going strong. “This was so much better than I thought it would be.” “Now I can fix things.”

Budd’s COVID Circuit

Finally after a number of years of having different kids do different parts that all come together at the end, we have a single individual start from scratch and finish at the end all in one semester. He knew a little bit of 3D printing from his SMATH (Science and Math) class in grade 10.

He created a completely novel 3D printing case design that is customized to fit his own circuit board. He learned the electrical engineering, how to use Eagle to make the schematics, ordered the parts, printed the board using a Voltera machine, soldered the parts and is now in the final stages assembling the case.

It will be our very first full sequence of the Design Thinking process for both the electrical engineering and 3D printed case with little input or help from me. One advantage to COVID is that students are only attending classes every second day, which seems to provide the freedom for kids to do cool projects if they have the motivation and the time management skills to use their “freedom of time while under physical confinement”.