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Playing with the Sun Resources

Designed for children and families in non-formal or informal learning environments, Playing with the Sun invites learners to follow their curiosity and build something powered by solar, wind, or muscles. In the process they develop their understanding of sustainable energy sources and their ability to think creatively with them.

This is a repository of documentation and how tos for the Playing with the Sun Project. Source code for all digitally fabricated components can be found in our Gitlab Repository. All of the information here is made available under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial License.

inquiry

How can I get started?

The solar mobiles activity is a relatively easy way to get started. The activity page describes the basic parts you need to run a workshop, and how to assemble them. If you'd like to try the other activities, you'll need to fabricate the elements from the Playing with the Sun construction kit. Most can be made with a lasercutter and 3D printer, but there are some circuits you'll need to have made, and this requires someone with technical expertise.

What is the Playing with the Sun Construction Kit?

The Playing with the Sun construction kit is an open-ended building system that consists of solar panels, solarengines, motors, powerpacks, and hand-crank generators, all electrically and physically compatible with eachother. The system runs on 5V of power or less, with no batteries or AC power.

With these components, educators can offer a variety of creative learning activities. These include pattern machines that draw, cable crawlers that ride on paracord, solar-bugs, and more, each of which invite children and adults to build something based on their own interests and curiosity.

If you want to build the kit yourself, you can find out where to get the parts you need and how to assemble them here. Playing with the Sun is an open source project funded by grants. We welcome contributions in the form of designs, activities, and funding. See the Contributor Guide for more information.