For Week 1, we built circuits using a breadboard, the ItsyBitsy M4, and a 3V LED lightbulb. I’ve never worked with electricity and circuitry before, so this was both novel and exciting to me.

In my first trial, I only used the wires, the lightbulb, and the microcontroller board. Not knowing that the strength of the voltage would be too powerful for the LED without the resistor, my tablemates and I marveled at the intensity of my lightbulb. Until it went out a few seconds later––never to turn on again… In my second trial, I was aptly advised to use a resistor, and my second LED was, I’m sure, grateful, albeit dimmer.

I also had some trouble figuring out how to use the volt meter, but once I got the hang of it, it was interesting to see the decline of voltage throughout the circuit. I was especially intrigued by how the voltage went to 0 after the lightbulb, yet there still needs to be wires connecting it back to the microcontroller board, even if they didn’t carry any electricity.