Education
We believe electronics is more than a hobby or a career path; it’s a creative medium for advancing teaching and learning. Our curriculum and resources are designed specifically as hands-on learning tools to help today’s students build skills for the creative and digital economy — critical thinking, collaboration, communication, curiosity, problem solving and invention. We recommend checking out the tutorials tagged with education or concepts to start. We also recommend checking out the lesson plans using SparkFun products on WorkBench for ideas.
Getting Started with the micro:bit
September 2, 2021
The BBC micro:bit is a compact, powerful programming tool that requires no software installation. Read on to learn how to use it YOUR way!
SparkFun gator:log Hookup Guide
September 5, 2019
The gator:log is a serial communication based data logger. This tutorial will get you started using the gator:log with the micro:bit platform.
SparkFun gator:soil Hookup Guide
June 13, 2019
The gator:soil is analog soil moisture sensor. This tutorial will get you started using the gator:soil with the micro:bit platform.
SparkFun gator:microphone Hookup Guide
June 13, 2019
The gator:microphone is an I2C sensor for detecting sound with an electret microphone. This tutorial will get you started using the gator:microphone with the micro:bit platform.
SparkFun gator:RTC Hookup Guide
September 5, 2019
The gator:RTC is an I2C based, real-time clock (RTC) for keeping time while your micro:bit isn't powered. This tutorial will get you started using the gator:RTC with the micro:bit platform.
SparkFun gator:environment Hookup Guide
June 13, 2019
The gator:environment combines two I2C sensors for temperature, humidity, pressure, eCO2, and eTVOC values. This tutorial will get you started using the gator:environment with the micro:bit platform.
SparkFun gator:UV Hookup Guide
September 5, 2019
The gator:UV is an I2C based UV sensor. This tutorial will get you started using the gator:UV with the micro:bit platform.
micro:arcade Kit Experiment Guide
July 21, 2017
We love games! We love writing games, building games and yes, even building game consoles. So we want to introduce to you the micro:arcade kit for the micro:bit!
SparkFun gator:particle Hookup Guide
June 13, 2019
The gator:particle is an I2C heart-rate monitor and pulse oximeter that can be used as a particle sensor. This tutorial will get you started using the gator:particle with the micro:bit platform.
SparkFun Inventor's Kit Experiment Guide - v4.1
August 8, 2019
The SparkFun Inventor's Kit (SIK) Experiment Guide contains all of the information needed to build all five projects, encompassing 16 circuits, in the latest version of the kit, v4.1.2 and v4.1.
Getting Started with MicroPython and the SparkFun Inventor's Kit for micro:bit
July 11, 2017
Learn MicroPython with the micro:bit.
micro:bit Educator Lab Pack Experiment Guide
May 8, 2018
A quickstart guide for the micro:bit educator lab pack.
SparkFun Inventor's Kit for micro:bit Experiment Guide
July 21, 2017
This guide contains all the information you will need to explore the twelve circuits of the SparkFun Inventors Kit for micro:bit.
How to Load MicroPython on a Microcontroller Board
September 4, 2018
This tutorial will show you how to load the MicroPython interpreter onto a variety of development boards.
micro:climate Kit Experiment Guide
July 21, 2017
A weather station kit that is built on top of the inexpensive, easy-to-use micro:bit and Microsoft MakeCode.
micro:bot Kit Experiment Guide
February 20, 2020
Get started with the moto:bit, a carrier board for the micro:bit that allows you to control motors, and create your own robot using this experiment guide for the micro:bot kit.
Wireless Remote Weather Station with micro:bit
May 11, 2020
Monitor the weather without being exposed to it through wireless communication between two micro:bits using the radio blocks! This is useful if your weather station is installed in a location that is difficult to retrieve data from the OpenLog. We will also explore a few different ways to send and receive data.
Gator:color ProtoSnap Hookup Guide
October 18, 2018
Clip some LED's onto your gator:bit with the gator:color.
Gator:control ProtoSnap Hookup Guide
October 17, 2018
Buttons and switches and inputs oh my! Start adding more control to your gator:bit with the SparkFun gator:control.
Gator:starter ProtoSnap Hookup Guide
October 18, 2018
Get started clipping sensors and lights to the micro:bit with the gator:starter gator:board from SparkFun!
SparkFun gator:bit v2 Hookup Guide
January 31, 2019
The gator:bit v2 is a breakout board for the BBC micro:bit. The gator:bit exposes almost every pin on the micro:bit to clippable pad with circuit protection. It also has as built-in addressable LEDs and a built-in buzzer.
micro:bit Breakout Board Hookup Guide
June 17, 2021
How to get started with the micro:bit breakout board.
Wireless Remote Control with micro:bit
January 21, 2019
In this tutorial, we will utilize the MakeCode radio blocks to have the one micro:bit transmit a signal to a receiving micro:bit on the same channel. Eventually, we will control a micro:bot wirelessly using parts from the arcade:kit!
Advanced Autonomous Kit for Sphero RVR Assembly Guide
December 12, 2019
Get your Advanced Autonomous Kit for the Sphero RVR built up with this hookup guide!
Basic Autonomous Kit for Sphero RVR Assembly Guide
December 12, 2019
Get your Basic Autonomous Kit for Sphero RVR all hooked up with this guide!
Getting Started with the Autonomous Kit for the Sphero RVR
December 13, 2019
Want to get started in robotics? Look no further than the SparkFun autonomous kit for the Sphero RVR! Whether you purchased the Basic or Advanced kit, this tutorial will get you rolling...
Wireless RC Robot with Arduino and XBees
March 12, 2019
In this tutorial, we will expand on the SIK for RedBot to control the robot wirelessly with XBee radios! We'll explore a different microcontroller and wirelessly control the RedBot at a distance.
Experiment Guide for RedBot with Shadow Chassis
May 28, 2015
This Experiment Guide offers nine experiments to get you started with the SparkFun RedBot. This guide is designed for those who are familiar with our SparkFun Inventor's Kit and want to take their robotics knowledge to the next level.
Working with Qwiic on a Jetson Nano through Jupyter Notebooks
April 23, 2020
We created a few Jupyter Notebooks to make using our Qwiic boards with your Jetson Nano even easier!
Measuring Internal Resistance of Batteries
May 5, 2016
Classroom STEM activity that has students build a battery from a lemon, measure the open and closed circuit voltages, and determine the battery's internal resistance.
LED Gumball Machine
April 24, 2019
Hacking gumball machines to make the world a happier, blinkier place.
Basic LED Animations for Beginners (Arduino)
December 3, 2019
Let's have some fun with LEDs! We'll explore LEDs once again with the SparkFun RedBoard Qwiic, making cool effects, and putting those effects to work using a sensor.
SparkFun Inventor's Kit Experiment Guide - v4.0
November 15, 2017
The SparkFun Inventor's Kit (SIK) Experiment Guide contains all of the information needed to build all five projects, encompassing 16 circuits, in the latest version of the kit, v4.0a.
Endless Runner Game
November 28, 2017
We make a simple side-scrolling endless runner game using parts from the SparkFun Inventor's Kit v4.0.
Clap On Lamp
November 28, 2017
Modify a simple desk lamp to respond to a double clap (or other sharp noise) using parts from the SparkFun Inventor's Kit v4.0.
Light-Seeking Robot
November 28, 2017
We use parts from the SparkFun Inventor's Kit v4.0 to create a light-seeking robot that mimics the behavior of single-celled organisms.
Using the SparkFun PicoBoard and Scratch
November 11, 2014
Here are a few tips in using the PicoBoard with Scratch v1.4. The PicoBoard allows us to write Scratch programs that interact with a variety of sensors on the PicoBoard. These sensors include: sound, light, a slider, a push button, and 4 external sensors (A, B, C, and D).
SIK Keyboard Instrument
April 15, 2016
We can use the parts and concepts in the SparkFun Invetor's Kit to make a primitive keyboard instrument.
DigitalSandbox PicoBoard
August 15, 2014
This tutorial walks through how to upload code to your Digital Sandbox to emulate the functionality of the PicoBoard with Scratch.
Old Tutorials
Looking for the old, archived tutorials? Head on over to the
archived tutorials on the main
SparkFun site.
Please be aware that the tutorials you find there are no longer
actively maintained.