Christmas Tree Soldering Workshop

Together with HaHaHo, I’m creating a number of soldering workshops for Library Neude in Utrecht. These workshops have to be accessible for people who don’t have a technological background but who would like to learn more about soldering. The workshops progress in difficulty so that a learning line is created: participants can develop their skills by attending ever more difficult workshops.

This Christmas tree is one such workshop, albeit at a pre-intermediate level. Some soldering or extensive crafting experience is needed to be able to complete the workshop. Every workshop is divided into two sessions of 2 hours each.

Creating the freeform sculpture was simple enough as it is based on an astable multivibrator; a fairly basic schematic familiar to most electrical engineers. However, transferring this sculpture to a paper manual proved to be quite challenging. In the end I opted for an IKEA-style manual where participants can directly place and tape components to the schematics on the paper and solder them in place.

Although this project taught me some Technology & Realisation skills, it mainly challenged me in Creativity & Aesthetics and User & Society.