Best People Foundation · STEM Education

Questions Worth Testing: Electronics Workshops at Jeevanahalli

Over six weekly workshops, students of the Government Kannada and Government Telugu Higher Primary Schools in Jeevanahalli kept asking questions a circuit could answer. Could the code follow a moving object? Could a temperature sensor confirm a flame? Why does a battery drain faster than USB? Each question became a test on the workbench.

Students working with an ESP32 board that reads a sensor and drives motors

Impact at a glance

Student participations: 120Attendance across six workshops
Girls: 60Across six workshops
Boys: 60Across six workshops
Workshops: 6Weekly, 29 June ? 3 August 2026
Hands-on hours: 6One hour per workshop

Real-time, local and secure

An ESP32 read a sensor and drove motors at the same moment, with no serial lag. Voice recognition ran locally on the device, which raised questions about wake-words, battery drain and heat. The ESP32's built-in Wi-Fi removed the need for extra networking hardware, and the conversation turned to why secure communication matters in real IoT systems.

Small details taught as much as the big ideas. A two-colour LED needed proper current limiting before both colours shone equally bright.

What each workshop showed

29 June 2026

Sensing and motor control on the ESP32

Attendance: 20 (10 boys, 10 girls)

On the table: An ESP32 board reading a sensor and driving motors.

What students noticed

The board read the sensor and drove the motors at the same time with no serial lag. They asked whether the code could be changed to follow moving objects, and felt practical doubts taught more than textbook answers.

What educators observed

Students clearly understood real-time multitasking on the ESP32 without simulation confusion. Hands-on debugging and practical constraints made the learning more meaningful than theory alone.

6 July 2026

A voice-controlled robot and high-torque motors

Attendance: 20 (10 boys, 10 girls)

On the table: A robot with local voice recognition, and motors with higher torque.

What students noticed

They asked whether custom wake-words and local language processing were feasible. They noted much higher torque than the standard DC motors used earlier.

What educators observed

Students questioned battery drain rates and thermal management on their own. They clearly distinguished local inference from cloud-dependent alternatives.

13 July 2026

IR beams and flame detection

Attendance: 20 (10 boys, 10 girls)

On the table: Paired IR beams that play notes, and a flame sensor.

What students noticed

They asked whether reflective IR sensors would simplify setup compared with paired beams. They also asked whether adding a temperature sensor could confirm a flame and reduce false positives.

What educators observed

Students were curious about multi-note arrangements using several beams at once. They tested false positives systematically under varying classroom light.

20 July 2026

A Wi-Fi robot: text versus voice commands

Attendance: 20 (10 boys, 10 girls)

On the table: A robot controlled from a phone app over the ESP32's built-in Wi-Fi.

What students noticed

The robot responded faster to text commands than to voice commands from the app. The ESP32's built-in Wi-Fi meant no extra networking hardware was needed.

What educators observed

Students understood why secure communication matters in real IoT deployments. They critically evaluated latency differences between command types and protocols.

27 July 2026

Environmental sensing: USB versus battery

Attendance: 20 (10 boys, 10 girls)

On the table: Temperature and humidity sensing, programmed from blocks and Python.

What students noticed

The device ran reliably on USB but drained its battery quickly during intensive operation. Humidity compensation was essential for accurate temperature calculations in closed spaces.

What educators observed

The path from block coding to Python suited students at different skill levels. They linked sensor fusion to real-world safety applications.

3 August 2026

A two-colour LED and distance sensing

Attendance: 20 (10 boys, 10 girls)

On the table: IR and ultrasonic distance sensors driving a two-colour LED.

What students noticed

The LED needed proper current limiting to keep its two colours equally bright. The IR sensor responded faster but tracked over a much shorter range than the ultrasonic sensor.

What educators observed

Students asked about combining both sensor inputs for conditional logic. LED indicators gave intuitive real-time feedback on distance changes.

Four lessons from the workbench

A question is an experiment. Following a moving object or confirming a flame became something to try, not just ask.
Local processing has a cost. Running voice recognition on the device raised battery and heat questions.
Power is part of the design. USB versus battery, and current limiting for an LED, changed how the circuit behaved.
Two sensors beat one. A temperature sensor alongside a flame sensor, or IR with ultrasonic, promised fewer false alarms.

Present these as themes explored in guided sessions, not as individual mastery.

Inside the workshops

Students testing a voice-controlled robot — A voice-controlled robot

Students testing infrared beams and a flame sensor — IR beams and flame sensing

Students controlling a robot from a phone app — Wi-Fi robot control

Students and teachers during an electronics workshop in a government school classroom — A workshop in progress

With appreciation to the Head Teachers

Best People Foundation thanks Mrs. Girija, Head Teacher, Government Kannada Higher Primary School, and Mrs. Aruna, Head Teacher, Government Telugu Higher Primary School, Jeevanahalli, for welcoming six weekly workshops into the school week and for supporting students throughout.

Practical technology, within reach

Six weeks, one pattern: a student asks "what if?" and the circuit answers. In Jeevanahalli, that meant a robot, a flame sensor and a battery taught what a textbook paragraph could not. BPF's aim is for students in government schools to have that experience early.

Together, Let's Make Wonders.