Black inventor and self-taught engineer Gerald “Jerry” Lawson was one of the few Black engineers of his time; yet, he was almost left out of the tome of gaming history. With his work on the Fairchild Channel F Console, Jerry was the first to innovate the use of interchangeable cartridges in consumer gaming consoles, changing the landscape of the gaming industry as we know it. In 2018, the gaming industry’s estimated worth was $138 billion and is built on the backbone of consumer flexibility: being able to play multiple games comfortably in your home or on the go. None of this modern-day success would have been possible if it wasn’t for Jerry Lawson; but, let’s start at the beginning.
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, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, 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 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.
