Explore. Build. Create.

Hands-on technology courses for curious young minds

Run by professional engineers and educators who enjoy sharing what they know.

START A BIT is a small, community-driven group in central Gothenburg, started in 2023. Young people design and build interactive things with lights, sensors, motors and small robots, and use Micro:bit, Arduino and Raspberry Pi to turn their ideas into working systems. Along the way they learn to plan, test and fix, and to work with AI the way engineers do today.

See the courses Get in touch

A Micro:bit with LEDs, an Arduino with a sensor and a gate, and a robot car with a camera and AI

Students testing a robot car together on the floor

Teamwork

Traffic lights

Object sorter with machine learning

Line following

Learning by doing

Hands-on problem solving

Students build with real boards, sensors, motors and electronics. When something does not work, they find out why and fix it, step by step. They learn by making things, testing them and solving problems.

From idea to working system

Each project starts with an idea and a plan. Students then build and test it, bringing wiring, mechanics and code together. They learn how the parts work together, and check that the whole system works.

Working with AI

Students build and test before they ask AI for help, and check its advice on the real machine. In some projects AI is the machine itself: a sorter with a model they trained, or a car that sees with a camera.

What we build with

A Micro:bit showing a face on its LEDs — **Micro:bit**
MakeCode blocks, then Python

An Arduino with an ultrasonic sensor — **Arduino**
C++, as in real devices

A Raspberry Pi on a robot car — **Raspberry Pi**
Python, cameras and AI

A glowing LED strip — **And much more**
sensors, motors, servos, cameras and other parts for each project

Why real boards, and why these? Software, AI and hardware are one system, and students learn it whole: why we build real things.

Good to know

Why Micro:bit, Arduino and Raspberry Pi?: Simple, proven boards let you see every layer: one pin, one wire, one line of code. C and C++ are among the most used languages in the world. When a project needs more, we add boards like the ESP32. Why these boards.
Where does AI fit in?: Software, AI and hardware work as one system. You build machines that measure, decide and act, some with AI inside, and learn to explain, test and fix the whole. More about why.
What will I take with me?: Skills that last with any new technology: finding faults step by step, testing ideas, explaining what you built, and working with others. And more and more of your own technical decisions. Our approach.
Am I the right age?: Most students are 10 to 16. Curiosity matters more than age.
Do I need prior knowledge?: No prior knowledge is needed. Get in touch so we can find a starting point together.
How big are the groups?: At most 8 students in a group, with time for individual help.
Which language do we speak?: We teach in English. Classmates speak Swedish, English and their mother tongues.
When and where?: During the school terms in central Gothenburg: see the dates and the place.
Can I try it first?: Yes, book a place at an open day. Contact us for the next date.
What should I bring?: Bring your own laptop. We provide boards, sensors, motors and parts.
How do we work together?: With a short agreement for students and families: kind words, quiet working voices, safe tools and electricity, cleaning up, coming on time, and asking before bringing a friend. Our agreement.
What does it cost?: There is a fee for teaching and materials. Contact us for details.

A few of our projects

Examples from our many projects. Our students open all of them after signing in.

A Micro:bit showing the five of a dice, with shake lines around it

Micro:bitMakeCodeFirst stepsStudents only

Shake the dice

Shake it and it rolls: a spin, rock, paper, scissors, and your sixes counted. Nothing to wire.

A wire game made in class: a bent wire on a wooden block, a loop, crocodile clips to a Micro:bit

Micro:bitMakeCodeFirst circuitStudents only

Wire game: don't touch the wire

Guide a loop along a bent wire: a touch beeps, counts, takes a life. Your first circuit with crocodile clips.

A glowing rainbow LED strip connected to a Micro:bit

Micro:bitArduinoMakeCodeC++Students only

Rainbow lightsaber

Make an LED strip glow in all colours and switch on like a lightsaber.

Top view of a small cardboard car with two servo wheels

Micro:bitMakeCodePythonStudents only

Cardboard robot car

Build a car from cardboard and two motors. Make it drive, spin and follow a remote.

A barrier arm on a servo, an ultrasonic sensor and two LEDs with an Arduino

ArduinoC++BuildStudents only

Parking gate: open when a car comes

A sensor detects a car, and a servo lifts the barrier. It closes after the car passes, and the system counts the cars.

A cardboard bean sorter in front of a laptop camera, sorting red and yellow beans

Micro:bitArduinoMakeCodeC++BuildStudents only

Sorting machine: teach it to see

A trained model looks at each bean, and the machine sorts it into the red or the yellow box.

See what students built in the Showcase, how they work together in Teamwork, and the full list of our projects.