SparkFun Electronics Makes the Grade with Summer Semester

Five-day education program in June teaches prototyping skills to emerging electronics enthusiasts

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May 22, 2012, 12:16 ET

BOULDER, Colo., May 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- SparkFun Electronics (www.sparkfun.com), a provider of parts, knowledge and passion for electronics creation, is proud to offer its fourth Summer Semester program. The five-day event in June will focus on teaching prototyping skills -- including schematics, breadboards, Gerber files, soldering, and stenciling. Students are encouraged to bring their ideas, half-finished designs, enthusiasm and lunch!

The program will start with a discussion of the design process, sourcing parts, datasheets and creating schematics, and will be followed by an introduction to Arduino. The second day will cover soldering, a brief discussion of SparkFun's Lilypad with an optional take-home activity, solder stenciling, and an introduction to processing. On day three, students will work with Eagle PCB layout software and cover more Arduino programming concepts. Day four will be dedicated to learning about GPS and wireless.

On the final day of the event, SparkFun will provide a whole day of support for independent projects. After all, the Summer Semester is about giving students the tools they need to execute their ideas. Instructors will make sure students get exposure to a wide variety of concepts and plenty of time to discuss design details with SparkFun's engineers.

SparkFun is dedicated to sharing ingenuity and hopes the Summer Semester will provide a wide range of basic skills to give students the confidence to pursue their own electronics projects.

"Every year is a new experience as we grow, as the hardware grows, and as our customers grow," said Educational Outreach Coordinator Jeff Branson. "We have a broad range of people in the classroom. A student might sit with a physicist on one side and a high school student on the other. The classroom chatter is very engaging and, much like the open-source model that drives SparkFun, it's fun and accessible for everyone."

Summer Semester will take place Monday, June 11 - Friday, June 15, 2012, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at SparkFun's headquarters in Boulder, Colorado. Students are asked to bring a laptop, several ideas to pursue over the course of the week, and lunch. More information about Summer Semester and event requirements can be found at http://www.sparkfun.com/products/11180.

About SparkFun Electronics

Founded in 2003, SparkFun shares its passion by providing parts, knowledge, and innovation for those looking to explore the world of embedded electronics. It helps anyone discover their inner inventor and enables individuals to create their own electronics projects.

SparkFun currently offers more than 1,800 products, ranging from simple components, like capacitors and resistors, to GPS units and Bluetooth modules. The company employs 140 people and is based in Boulder, Colorado.

Find SparkFun on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Vimeo and Google+.

Press Contact:
Jeremy Douglas
Catapult PR-IR
303-581-7760 ext. 16
[email protected]

SOURCE SparkFun Electronics