# Electron Lab

> Electron Lab teaches electronics, circuits, microcontrollers and robotics to children aged about 10 to 15, in the browser. 17 levels and 76 missions take a learner from a first circuit to programming a robot, with nothing to install.

Learners build real circuits on a simulated breadboard, program an Arduino, a BBC micro:bit, an ESP32 and a Raspberry Pi Pico with blocks, wire sensors and motors, then build a robot and program it to drive and to fight in a sumo arena. There are 17 levels and 76 missions, with hints, “Why?” help and quizzes, plus 12 free labs. Nothing to install, and no hardware needed; a parts list helps anyone who wants the real parts on a desk.

For children (about 10 to 15), parents, schools, and robotics and coding centres. Teachers make a school, add classes and learners, and see their progress. Learners in a class sign in with a class code and a picture password, with no email.

Level 1 and the labs are free with no account. A free account opens every level and saves work across devices. Made by Version2 Apps.

## Pages

- [The curriculum](https://electronlab.app/curriculum/): every level and mission, as plain text
- [Overview](https://electronlab.app/overview/): what it is, for parents, teachers and schools
- [Open the app](https://electronlab.app/): the app itself (it needs JavaScript)
- [Privacy](https://electronlab.app/privacy/) and [terms](https://electronlab.app/terms/)

## Levels

### Main path

Start here and follow it in order: circuits, your first programs, sensors, motors, then a robot of your own.

- Level 1, Electricity basics: Build real circuits: loops, LEDs, motors, series and parallel, and battery packs. (5 missions)
- Level 2, BBC micro:bit: Write your first programs on the micro:bit schools use: its lights, buttons, tilt, temperature and sounds. (6 missions)
- Level 3, Program an Arduino: Meet the Arduino Uno, write your first program for it from blocks, then wire lights of your own and program them. (4 missions)
- Level 4, Inputs and decisions: Buttons and sensors: read a pin, let the program decide with if and else, fade a light and build a night-light. (4 missions)
- Level 5, Arduino sensors: Servos, knobs, temperature, motion, distance and colour: real modules wired to an Arduino. (5 missions)
- Level 6, Motors and drivers: Why a pin can’t run a motor, the H-bridge motor driver, speed with PWM, and two motors steering like a robot. (3 missions)
- Level 7, Build a robot: Put your circuit in a robot body, then drive it: straight, round a corner, pushing a box, and finding things with sensors. (5 missions)
- Level 8, Robot arena: Sumo matches against five practice robots, from easy to champion. Tune your body and your program to win. (4 missions)

### Go deeper

Optional. The why behind it all: measuring, Ohm’s law, transistors and what is inside the chip. Dip in whenever you are curious.

- Level 9, Measuring: Measure like an engineer with a multimeter, and discover Ohm’s law yourself. (4 missions)
- Level 10, Sharing the push: Voltage dividers, the light sensor, dimmers and two roads side by side. (4 missions)
- Level 11, Transistors and logic: Switches that make decisions: AND and OR gates, then switches worked by electricity. (4 missions)
- Level 12, Inside a microcontroller: Meet the ATmega328P, the chip on an Arduino Uno: its memory, its bits, its heartbeat and its 28 legs. (7 missions)
- Level 13, Seeing signals: Use the scope to watch what a pin really does: the square wave behind a fading LED, and the pulse that steers a servo. (2 missions)

### Mission robots

Optional. Program a two-wheel hub robot to run missions on a mat, the way school robot competition teams do. No wiring.

- Level 14, Drive a mission robot: A robot with a hub for a brain: its lights and beeps, driving exact distances, turning, and turning by the gyro. (4 missions)
- Level 15, Robots that sense: Stop before a wall, read colours on the mat, follow a line, then run a whole mission against the clock. (4 missions)

### Uniko EKAM kit

Optional. For learners who have the Uniko EKAM robot board.

- Level 16, A real robot board: Tour the Uniko EKAM robot board in 3D, drive its pins, wire it up and upload a program. (5 missions)
- Level 17, Sensors and motors: The Uniko EKAM’s parts: a servo, an IR sensor, a microphone, a TV remote and a battery charger, wired and tested. (6 missions)

## Labs

- Circuit Lab: Build any circuit you like, flat or in 3D.
- Arduino Lab: Wire an Arduino Uno to your circuit and run mBlock programs on it.
- micro:bit Lab: Program a BBC micro:bit with blocks, like in MakeCode: its lights, buttons and sensors.
- Sensor Library: Every sensor and module: what it does, how to wire it, and how a program reads it.
- Uniko Lab: Test mBlock programs on a virtual Uniko EKAM robot board.
- Garage: Put your Arduino Lab circuit into a robot body: chassis, shell, wheels and add-ons.
- Robot lab: Drive your robot on test tracks, then fight practice robots in the sumo arena.
- Nano Lab: The Uno’s chip on a board small enough for a breadboard or a robot.
- Mega Lab: The big Arduino: 70 pins, for projects that run out of room on an Uno.
- Robot Hub Lab: Program a two-wheel robot with word blocks and run missions on a competition-style mat.
- ESP32 Lab: Program an ESP32 with blocks: a 3.3 V board with Wi-Fi built in.
- Pico Lab: Program a Raspberry Pi Pico with blocks, and see the program as MicroPython.

## Good to know

- Boards: Arduino Uno, Nano and Mega, BBC micro:bit, ESP32, Raspberry Pi Pico, the Uniko EKAM robot board, and a two-wheel robot hub that works like a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime hub.
- Programs are written with blocks, like mBlock and MakeCode. Programs can be opened and saved as mBlock files, and shown as Arduino C++ or Python.
- The main path has 8 levels; the other levels are optional tracks.
- Made by Version2 Apps: https://version2apps.com