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Tronix Team is a “FUN” youth science program, that works with students K-12 during after school and summer programs building hands-on science and technology projects.
Our goal is to raise students' curiosity and interest to learn more about science, technology, engineering, and math. We aim to encourage our participants to pursue a college education and to set their goals high.
Tronix Team was founded in the fall of 1997 by Steve Birth, following his early retirement from Macromedia, Inc. Steve has been interested in technology since the third grade, when he earned first place in a school science fair for a radio he built with the help of a neighbor. Tronix Team grew out of Steve’s desire to help kids feel a sense of accomplishment as a result of completing a basic science and technology project.
In the past 14 years, over 1,000 students have been involved with Tronix Team. Tronix Team projects have included a MP3 player Lunchbox Boombox, a laser, a primitive telephone, a rotary telephone, a touchtone speakerphone, a pumpkin light, a digit counter and a volt meter.
Steve Birth BIO (Founder of Tronix Team) [PDF]
History
Tronix Team was founded in, 1995 by Steve Birth in Minneapolis. Originally called Inventor’s Corner, it began with a focus on physical science and electricity. Building two electric go-carts and then racing the girls against the boys was a highlight of the early years. (the girls team won the race). Then in 1997 we put more focus on electronics with the name Electronics Club. Later this was changed to Tronix Team. For the first ten years students from nearby schools came weekly to the building of Park Avenue Youth and Family Services, the non-profit organization that runs Tronix Team. Students typically built four projects in a school year and went on several field trips. It was a very intensive experience for those 35 children, but we wanted to reach more students. In the summer of 2005 an advisory board was formed to guide the program. Soon after that a new project exploded onto the scene. Tronix Team had built speaker systems before, but they were made of wood and were heavy and expensive. Something new was needed, something light and portable. That something was an old plastic lunchbox. The Lunchbox Boombox quickly became the most popular project ever. It consists of a plastic lunchbox from the 1980s with an MP3 played glued on the front and a large speaker mounted inside. Students build a circuit board from scratch with a volume control and an amplifier. The sound quality of this system is surprisingly good.
With the drawing power of the boombox project, Tronix Team began to partner with other youth programs all over the city of Minneapolis. Schools, park buildings, libraries and churches began calling to get on the schedule. An instructor was hired to lead the workshop sessions with volunteer help. This led to 335 students completing a Tronix project in 2007. Then in 2008 Tronix Team was fortunate to get a Vista Volunteer position established for an Associate Program Director. The position was filled by, Catalina Carbonell, who soon shifted the program into high gear. Many more partnerships were setup, three additional instructors were hired and two new projects were started.
The new projects reach beyond the middle-school ages that were the original target of Tronix Team. For high school ages the Heart Rate Sensor allows students to hear the ticking of their heart and to see their heart rate displayed. They are encouraged to discover how exercise and rest affect the heart rate. This challenging project requires advanced soldering skills and includes a micro computer chip. The project was originally designed by, Luke Taylor, an Electrical Engineering student at the University of Minnesota.
For younger elementary students in grades 3 to 5, the Magnets & Motors project provides an exciting introduction to electricity. Students build a water-based compass and get to take it home. They learn how a motor works through a series of educational demonstrations, and then build an electric fan they get to keep.
Tronix Team continues to reach more students and design more projects. One project coming soon is an electric guitar that will use the Lunchbox Boombox as an amp.