Build-it-yourself digital camera teaches kids how they work

The Bigshot camera gets children to learn how to build the device before they can use it.

PublicLabs’ Infragram camera has already offered a way for anyone to carry out their own scientific tests. Now the Bigshot camera is getting kids to learn how to build the device before they can use it.

Those ordering the camera don’t receive it as a finished product – instead the company sends them all of the separate components ready to be clipped together to make a working digital camera. Developed by the Computer Vision Laboratory at Columbia University, the kit comes with instructions on how to assemble the device, as well as information on how each part works and what it contributes to the finished product. Once the camera is built, they can take photos and upload their snaps onto a computer.

At USD 89, the device comes with a similar price tag and many of the features of consumer digital cameras with the added bonus of getting kids engaged with the technology behind it. Could this model be applied to other popular tech devices?

Spotted by: Murray Orange