SparkFun Inventor's Kit Lab Pack

Replacement:LAB-11956. We've updated this lab pack to include the V3 SparkFun Inventor's Kit, go check it out! This page is for reference only.

The SparkFun Inventor's Kit LabPack includes 10 complete Inventor's Kits plus 10 more Arduino Uno boards, Baseplates, Breadboards and Kit Guides.

SparkFun packages everything educators need to get started with this platform in a number of varieties that fit different classroom settings and populations. The hardware boards, cables, and extra parts come pre-packaged. Examples and curriculum material are available from SparkFun and Arduino as well as from other educators involved in this growing educational movement.

The LabPacks are SparkFun's classroom entry point. By combining our ProtoSnap, LilyPad, SparkFun Inventors Kits or Arduino Compatible through-hole soldering kits with support materials SparkFun brings all the power of the open-source community to the classroom.

The Arduino programming environment is a free download making getting started as simple as opening your kits, opening a programming window on your computer, and loading example code to the microcontroller. Arduino is a model for the open source movement. All the basics in this C-based language are laid out in simple examples that students, teachers, and parents can understand and work with right from the start by accessing the example files in the programming environment. The community support offered by Arduino is second to none. Hundreds of examples of code are available for free online, and wiring examples for hardware are equally as easy to find. The Arduino hardware and software are C-based, and because of this they are easy to link to internet-based applications and common programs such as Excel, Matlab, LabView, and even POP3 mail applications. Also, Arduino has a free companion language, Processing, which gives users the ability to create very friendly interfaces that can graph, create gaming options, and do a dizzying amount of data visualization.

Each LabPack Includes:

Comments

Looking for answers to technical questions?

We welcome your comments and suggestions below. However, if you are looking for solutions to technical questions please see our Technical Assistance page.

  • JoshFranz / about 13 years ago / 6

    You forgot that all these show up in your RSS feed :)

  • Kamiquasi / about 13 years ago / 2

    Noooo don't file a bug!
    Wait, what? It's in the comment feed.. even the page says 3 comments (4 after I hit submit), so where is it?
    oh you stillsneakydavid

  • Lee / about 13 years ago / 2

    Huh. Consider packaging these bundles for public sale?

  • Majordan / about 12 years ago / 1

    The hard copy of the SIK guide does not follow the same order as the web version above. For example circuit 3 is "spin Motor Spin" on the online web guide but in the hard copy version of the SIK guide it is "RGB LED". All of the same circuits are there but listed differently in the two different guides. This Might be confusing to the students who, I am hoping will use all of these resources. Is there a web based guide or a pdf version of the hard copy of the SIK guide that match the other resources?

    Also the kit does not come with the 3-pin headers or the 2-pin headers it shows and uses in the web guide. So I am thinking that the Inventor's kit is intended to be used with the sik guide and not the web version linked to in the description. Is that actually the case? Are there any other differnces between the SIK guide and the web guide?

    • MikeGrusin / about 12 years ago / 1

      Sorry about the confusion; we stopped putting breakaway headers in the kits because they were problematic and we found better solutions. They were only used to stake down the overlays (which we've migrated away from) and connect the servo to the breadboard (which didn't work well because one side of the header is too short). We switched to using jumper wires to connect the servo, which works much better. We're currently doing a major revision of the manual, which will also work fine with the old kits. Stay tuned!

      • Wherein Mike shames me for not RTF-BOM...

        • MikeGrusin / about 12 years ago / 1

          No shame at all; this kit has been forked more than a thanksgiving turkey. I only knew this one because I was the one who complained about it.

    • Sorry about that! Looks like the web link for the guide above just didn't get updated with the new SIK guide revisions. You can find the current version which should match your hard copy here. As far as the headers go, you should have received these headers in your kit. You will need to snap them apart to adapt them for most of the circuits in the guide, but they should be in there. If you did happen to get a kit without some, please contact tech support with your order number and they'll be able to assist you.

  • Tiny / about 12 years ago / 1

    Why are these kits $1,250 when the inventors kit without retail box is only $95 ie 10 x $95 is only $950. Is there something extra that isn't in the just the standalone kit? Just wondering as I have a very tight budget and $300 is almost a semesters electronics budget.

    thanks richard

    • Kinch / about 12 years ago / 1

      "The SparkFun Inventor's Kit LabPack includes 10 complete Inventor's Kits plus 10 more Arduino Uno boards, Baseplates, Circuit Overlays, Breadboards and Kit Guides."

      So, you're getting 10 full kits plus the basic parts of 10 more. This way you could basically have 10 students work on one circuit and another 10 students working on a different circuit at the same time.

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