‘Hacker-style’ workshops allow teenagers to ‘tinker with technology’

Teenagers are being encouraged to tinker with technology as part of an initiative poised to sweep the world.

The Tyndall National Institute in Cork, which works at the cutting edge of electronics, photonics, sensors and nanotechnology research, has launched MakerDojo — a club which encourages second-level students and the general public to explore science and technology in hands-on ‘hacker-style’ workshops.

The research centre will provide technologies such as Arduino microcontrollers and littleBits electronics kits to encourage participants to build homemade burglar alarms; transmit songs through fibre-optic cables; and experiment with a miniature water-powered car.