Build Your Own Weather Station: An Intro to Physical Computing, Simple Circuits, and 3D Design In-Person
Everyone talks about the weather, but have you ever thought about measuring it? From community crowdsourcing applications to projects around the house to more rigorous research applications, low-cost weather stations can be valuable monitoring tools and a source of personal learning and enjoyment. In this full-day, hands-on and in-person bootcamp, you will learn how to build and program simple circuits that connect a microcontroller (Arduino) to a suite of environmental sensors (temperature, humidity, light intensity, etc.) to make a working weather station. In the second half of this session, you'll learn the basics of 3D model design and development to create a 3D-printable model of an enclosure for your station.
No prior experience with electronics or 3D model development is required, as we'll start at the basics!
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Describe the fundamental concepts and operational principles of simple circuits, sensors and actuators.
- Apply fundamental principles to build simple circuits that interact with their surrounding environments.
- Create and modify software code to control the device and create comments to document its functionality.
- Explain the basics of temperature measurement and the considerations necessary to do it with accuracy and consistency.
- Discuss the basic principles of 3D model design and development.
Details: Any preparatory work for the session can be found on its information page. This workshop will not be recorded.
Certificate Eligibility: This workshop is eligible for the Sherman Centre's certificate program. For more information, visit scds.ca/certificate-program. It is also eligible for the Canadian Certificate for Digital Humanities. To learn more, visit ccdhhn.ca or contact scds@mcmaster.ca.
- Date:
- Tuesday, May 4, 2027
- Time:
- 9:30am - 4:30pm
- Time Zone:
- Eastern Time - US & Canada (change)
- Location:
- Sherman Centre for Digital Scholarship (1st Floor, Mills Library)
- Audience:
- McMaster + Community
- Categories:
- DMDS DRI Training SCDS Sponsored Events Workshops
CODE OF CONDUCT
The Sherman Centre and the McMaster University Libraries are committed to fostering a supportive and inclusive environment for its presenters and participants. As a participant in this session, you agree to support and help cultivate an experience that is collaborative, respectful, and inclusive, as well as free of harassment, discrimination, and oppression. We reserve the right to remove participants who exhibit harassing, malicious or persistently disruptive behaviour.
We strive to make this event accessible to everyone. Where possible, sessions are recorded and include live captioning, and we will share recordings, slides, and transcripts afterward so you can revisit the content at your own pace. Because these materials are provided, and to help protect participant privacy and consent, we ask that attendees do not use AI note-taking or automated recording tools (such as Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai, Zoom AI Companion, or similar apps) without prior permission from the organizers.
Please refer to our code of conduct webpage for more information.
| Jay Brodeur (he/him) is the Director of Digital Scholarship Infrastructure & Services and the Administrative Director of the Sherman Centre for Digital Scholarship. Jay has years of experience working with data in a wide variety of formats and interdisciplinary contexts. A scientist by training with a PhD in Earth and Environmental Sciences, he’s comfortable working and advising on all kinds of data-related activities, ranging from data wrangling and integration to analysis and mapping to research data management. Jay’s also keenly interested in the application of digital approaches to support experiential learning opportunities within and outside of the classroom. |
John Fink is the Digital Scholarship Librarian at the Sherman Centre. John’s (he/they) talents lie in complex and innovative systems administration, project management and hardware infrastructure. He also has an interest in the maker/hacker element in digital scholarship, and is frequently spotted tinkering with esoteric hardware. If you are interested in having the Sherman Centre support your project, John is an excellent first contact.
The Sherman Centre for Digital Scholarship supports McMaster students, faculty, and staff, as well as anyone curious about digital scholarship. From research and teaching to training and technical support, we’re here to help bring digital projects to life at every stage!
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