The Wisconsin and Minnesota chapters of American Association of Physics Teachers are having a joint meeting on 10/29 and 10/30. Two talks (I think on 10/30) during the meeting will be dedicated to arduino! One intro and one on a particular project. Please join us if you're interested in getting started with arduino and mingle with science/physics high school teachers and college profs.
Registration for the entire 2-day meeting is $10.
Here's the link to registration:
http://www.uwec.edu/wapt/Meetings/2010/RegistrationOpen.html
Here's talk schedule:
http://www.uwec.edu/wapt/Meetings/2010/index.html
The following are the talks:
The Arduino, a cheap micro-controller with multiple uses in the physics curriculum
Nathan Moore Winona State University
The talk will introduce the Arduino microprocessor (and programming) system, an exciting piece of equipment which is popular in hobbyist electronics (aka "Maker") circles. The system is quite cheap, easy to program, and has a wealth of open-source applications already developed and available (from accelerometers to GPS to breathalyzers...). A few upper and lower division activities using the Arduino will be demonstrated.
DIY Photogates Made Easy, and Cheap
Zengqiang Liu Saint Cloud State University
In this presentation, I will show the audience how easy it is to construct your own commercial-quality photogate system, including the timer and two gates, with a budget under $60. You will need an arduino microcontroller, parts, basic tools, and an hour of time. You will be able to save money and have fun making your own apparatus again.