Grow Up Curious 
Spark
Your first circuits: light it up, push it, mix colors.
Five missions on a breadboard, with no code and no computer setup. The board is only the power source, so a USB phone charger or a power bank works too. Your kid plugs in the parts; you read the steps out loud.
Instant PDF download. 14-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked. Secure checkout by Polar.
Planning to do Level 2 as well? Get Spark and Coder together for $24.
- Format
- 31-page PDF, US Letter. Read on a screen or print at home.
- Missions
- 5, about 10 to 30 minutes each
- You need
- An UNO R3 starter kit (not included) and a USB power source
- Power
- USB only. The 9 V battery stays in the box.
The five missions
Light It Up
10 minMake an LED glow with no code at all. The board works like a battery.
Push to Light
15 minThe LED only lights up while you press the button.
Light Copycat
15 minAn LED that copies the light in the room. More light, brighter LED.
Dimmer Knob
15 minTurn a knob to make an LED brighter or dimmer.
Color Mixer
30 minOne LED that glows red, green or blue, and mixes them into new colors.
Every mission has
- Parts at a glance, time and difficulty
- A wiring picture and a hole-by-hole wiring table
- A "Did it work?" check and an "If it doesn't work" box
- "Why it works" in one or two sentences
- Two pages of lab notes: predict, draw it, what happened, bug hunt, think further
Also inside: a parts hunt, 3 rules for builders, "What is a circuit?", "Meet the breadboard", a Bug Hunter Log, a star page for the builder's name, a parts and shopping list, and "For grown-ups: how to help".
What you need
Everything comes from a standard UNO R3 starter kit. The ELEGOO UNO R3 Super Starter Kit lists every part below, and most other UNO R3 kits do too. Check your kit's parts list before you buy.
No computer setup is needed for Spark. If you plan to do Level 2 later, the free Start Here guide sets up the computer.
| Part | What to look for | Qty |
|---|---|---|
| UNO R3 board | UNO R3 compatible (ATmega328P) | 1 |
| USB cable | USB-A to USB-B (the square plug) | 1 |
| Breadboard | Solderless, 830 holes (400 also works) | 1 |
| Jumper wires | Male-to-male, mixed colors | 10 |
| LEDs | 5 mm, red and yellow | 1 each |
| RGB LED | 5 mm, 4 legs, common cathode (most kits) | 1 |
| Resistors | 220 Ω (red, red, brown stripes) | 3 |
| Push buttons | Small, 4 legs | 3 |
| Potentiometer | 10 kΩ, 3 legs | 1 |
| Light sensor | Photoresistor (LDR), 5 mm | 1 |
Spark and Coder together
Do Level 1 now and Level 2 when your builder is ready: 10 missions, 64 pages.
Questions about kits, ages or printing? See questions parents ask.