Some people think International Women’s Day, which comes right in the middle of Women’s History Month, is overdoing it. If “underdoing it” were a phrase, it’s the one I would use. On most days in most months, most women and girls aren’t able to raise their voices. Because no one knows the challenges they face, they’re forced to face them on their own.
On International Women’s Day, however, we make a point of hearing the voices of every woman and girl. Today, we make sure that every woman and every girl counts — literally.
I’m talking about a project that combines two of my favorite topics: women’s empowerment and data. The media sometimes call Bill and me “data nerds.” I’m not sure they mean it as a compliment, but I wear it as a badge of pride anyway. Data is not boring. If you use it right, it tells the hidden stories of millions of women and girls.
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, or even use Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for MakeCode, CircuitPython, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell with Google Hangouts On-Air is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
