Today is International Day of Education, and Microcontrollers for Kids is the perfect hands-on Elektor Labs project to mark the day. By Elektor Labs user DE160775, the collection shares a simple, proven way to get students from “drag blocks around” to running code on real boards — without losing the kids along the way.

It’s built around three steps: Scratch for early confidence, Open Roberta with Calliope MINI for sensor/actuator thinking (plus simulation), and Open Roberta with Arduino UNO to bridge into the Arduino “real world,” including viewing the generated sketch code.
 

Microcontrollers for Kids: Step One with Scratch

The first step is classic Scratch: a browser-based, visual environment that works well for grades 3–4 because the feedback loop is immediate and the syntax problems are largely removed.

A document page titled “Step One: Programming for Kids” showing a Scratch desktop screenshot with a maze-style project, captioned as running on a Raspberry Pi 3B+.
Step One: A Scratch desktop project used to introduce grades 3–4 to programming, shown running on a Raspberry Pi 3B+.

The project notes that schools do not always have reliable internet, so the desktop version is useful, too. A practical trick here is using printed “cards” with small goals so kids rack up quick wins and then start improvising.
 

Step Two: Open Roberta with Calliope MINI

For older students (grades 8–9 in the author’s experience), the workflow moves to a web-based block environment aimed at boards and robots, with Calliope MINI as the target.

A three-panel screenshot collage of Open Roberta Lab showing the welcome page, the Calliope mini hardware configuration diagram, and a block-programming view with the Calliope simulator.
Step Two uses Open Roberta Lab to teach sensor-and-actuator thinking on the Calliope mini, with block programming and an on-screen simulator.

The key advantage is that learners can explore inputs and outputs (buttons, mic, light, motion sensors, RGB LED, LED matrix) and can often test logic in a simulator before touching hardware. The Elektor Labs project package includes printable coding cards for Calliope MINI to speed up the first lessons and encourage experimentation.
 

Step Three: Open Roberta With Arduino UNO

The third step keeps the same Open Roberta UI but switches the target to Arduino UNO, where the board itself is simple but the ecosystem is not: servos, steppers, ultrasonic modules, character LCDs, and more.

A two-panel German “Arduino Basics” Blink card showing an Arduino Uno graphic on the left and an Open Roberta Lab browser screenshot with Blink blocks and the Arduino Downloader on the right.
Step Three introduces Arduino UNO in Open Roberta Lab, using the classic Blink example and showing how to download the program to the board.

The author’s twist is to use the serial console for output and to have students flip on the source-code view so they can see how block logic maps into an Arduino sketch (including the role of setup() and loop()). If you want the full downloadable material set (README plus the Step_2 and Step_3 coding-card ZIPs), it’s all on the Elektor Labs project page.

The arc is the point: keep the learning curve gentle, keep the wins frequent, and introduce “real code” only once curiosity has momentum.

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