LittleBits are small Lego-like building blocks kicked up to a new level. The ½-inch to 1½-inch plastic pieces are pre-engineered electronic modules, each with a specific function, and snapping one to the other through the use of tiny, but powerful, magnets. Developed by interactive artist and engineer Ayeh Bdeir, the mission of littleBits, her company, is “To put the power of electronics in the hands of everyone.”

C.H. Booth Library is doing its part to put the power of electronics in the hands of residents, with its recent purchase of a littleBits kit. Purchased through a generous private donation and with a discount received through the Connecticut Library Association, littleBits is one more part of “what we should be doing,” said Young Adult Librarian Kim Weber. Introducing technology to the community is a means of attracting a broader section of the population, in ways that encourage collaboration, she said. “It’s a fairly new product, so I did take a bit of a gamble [by buying the kit],” Ms Weber said.

On Saturday afternoon, September 27, during the chbMakers Open House, residents can find out for themselves what littleBits is all about. Nearly two dozen hands-on forms of technology — from the very low-tech cookie decorating workshop to the mind-boggling 3D printer — will be demonstrated, and residents will be given the opportunity to experiment with a side of the library that presents knowledge in a manner quite different from that found between the pages of books.

Leading the half-hour-long littleBits demonstrations, for various age groups, will be Newtown resident Bob Schroeder. Mr Schroeder has worked as a research scientist for 40 years, most recently as a program manager for optical sensors for an oil exploration company.

Trained in physics, Mr Schroeder’s specialty is remote optical and electronic sensing; he holds more than 20 US and international patents in various sensing systems for oil exploration. He was unfamiliar with littleBits when library staff approached him and asked him to share his expertise with the community. Having had a chance to play with the electronic building blocks, Mr Schroeder is excited about introducing others to this new hobby.

“I got my start in electronics with my Ham radio license,” Mr Schroeder said. “My brother and I would crawl around our neighborhood, recovering thrown-away TV and radio sets, bringing them home and unsoldering the electronic parts for our home projects,” he said. He sees littleBits as a new generation of that kind of experimentation, minus the messiness of soldering.

“Legos allowed anyone to be an architect,” Mr Schroeder said, and the littleBits inventor wanted to do something similar, but with electronics, by removing the “fear factor” of needing to know the details of electronic circuitry. With littleBits there is no worry about breaking anything, he said, and the pieces can be quickly assembled to build a prototype of something functional with electronic snap-together modules. It is a simple means of encouraging creativity and helping people understand how to build circuitry, Mr Schroeder said.

Sitting in his living room, with dozens of modules spread out on the table in front of him, Mr Schroeder deftly demonstrated September 4 the ease with which littleBits can be used. Each piece is color-coded. Blue pieces are power modules. Green pieces are an output device, such as a buzzer, a miniature fan, or lights, and neon pink pieces control the device, with modules like a pressure sensor, start button, or slide dimmer switch. The whole thing is powered by one 9-volt battery. Tiny print on each module describes what it is, and what it can do, making it even easier to make a selection when creating something.

Powering Up The Imagination

The combinations of modules are limited only by the imagination, and littleBits encourages the incorporation of outside parts (cardboard, paper dispenser rolls, Playdoh, etc) to create a more complex project. Numerous project designs are posted at littleBits.cc, part of the company’s dedication to being an open source, with knowledge sharing encouraged. That is where creativity is launched, Mr Schroeder believes.

“The power of this,” he said, fastening a light sensor module to a power module, then nimbly adding a pressure sensor, a buzzer, a LED light, and a slide dimmer to the chain of pieces; meanwhile, setting up another stream of modules to make a fan blow, “is that I can make three of four different devices quickly, without doing any messy stuff.” Sliding the dimmer, the LED glowed and faded at his command; the buzzer buzzed, and a red light glowed. Simple as the reactions were, they serve a purpose, Mr Schroeder said.

He loves that littleBits teaches logic and opens up the user to understanding why things happen with electricity. One skill in life is to learn how to think, Mr Schroeder said, and this kind of play will help kids gain confidence. He feels that littleBits will be as inviting to girls as it is to boys.

“Playing with littleBits can enlighten as to how everyday technology works,” he said. Younger littleBits users will be able to understand what makes familiar electronics around them work, he hopes. “I think that’s key to understanding the world we live in,” he added. “When you feel a little more comfortable with electronics, the technology world around you is not such a mystery, [and is] a bit less intimidating.” The iPhone touch screen, for example, is similar to the  littleBits pressure sensor, and the electronics inside the iPhone “is full of really tiny littleBits,” he explained. The littleBits vibration module, for example, is very similar to the part inside an iPhone that makes it vibrate when not on ring mode.

What is exciting to Mr Schroeder, too, is the thought that as people play with littleBits, they will begin to brainstorm: What would I use this for in the real world? Could a gerbil be taught to step on a pressure sensor and turn on a fan to cool itself? Is it possible to rig up a way to be alerted remotely that the little brother has opened a door? The fun part is the exploration, Mr Schroeder said, and it is his hope that enough interest will be generated at the September 27 chbMakers Open House demonstration that others will be inspired to further experiment and share what they learn. It is the “See one, Do one, Teach one,” philosophy, he said.

LittleBits is for the kid (or the kid at heart) who is a budding engineer or artist. It is a fast track to understanding, Mr Schroeder said.

“You can go very deep with this source. These are real electronics in these pieces. The most fun part,” he said, “is mixing engineering with art. It’s fun to teach someone something new and see the creativity.”

LittleBits is not an inexpensive product. The basic kit is listed at littleBits.cc at $99, and includes ten modules. Workshop kits are priced at more than $1,000.

The demonstration at the library, as well as further workshops Mr Schroeder may present this fall, will provide enough hands-on play to determine if this is a project kit worth the home investment.

Right now, said Ms Weber, individual time with littleBits is not planned, but monitored sessions will be open to the public.

Other demonstrations scheduled at the chbMakers Open House at C.H. Booth Library, Saturday, September 27, from noon to 4 pm, are button making, literary games, MaKey MaKey, 3D printing, coding with Scratch, coding with Python, Origami, duct tape, experimenting with electricity, cookie decorating, needle felting, CE puzzle collage, 3D Club, 3D demo with Julia Truchsess, digital photos, spinning, arm knitting, and building structures. The demonstrations are led by town volunteers, library staff, and Young Adult Council members. Most of the programs are drop-in and require no signup prior to September 27. To find out more about the cbhMakers Open House or for signups, visit chboothlibrary.org.

“We’re organizing the talent in our town,” Ms Weber said. “We love that people are sharing ideas — for free.”