Adafruit Leaderboard of Skills Earned!

Oscilloscope Skill Badge awarded to Joey Hudy by Adafruit

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We\'ve been a big fan of Joey as he\'s become one of the most prolific younger makers in recent months. From running his own kit company to appearing on our weekly SHOW-AND-TELL, Joey not only makes things - he shares. Recently Joey learned how to use an oscilloscope and in typical maker fashion made a video and shared it. We\'re awarding Joey the oscilloscope badges and expect to see him quickly earn many many more!

Micro-controllers Skill Badge awarded to Sam Wilkinson by Adafruit

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Sam joined the Adafruit electronics show and tell to share his RFID computer mouse project! He added an RFID reader, USB hub, and the Adafruit 32u4 board to his standard computer mouse, enabling him to log into his computer by swiping the rfid tag in his watch band. We were impressed not only with the complexity of his endeavor but also learned it\'s his first soldering project! Way to go Sam!

The 32u4 board acts as a keyboard to type in Sam\'s password. When he found that the RFID antenna was using a lot of power, he added a USB hub and a switch to be able to devote all the power to the RFID reader-- he calls it the \"login button.\"

Sam made this for a school project, and we can only hope his teacher and classmates appreciate it as much as we do. We can\'t wait to see what this rising maker star will make next!

Educational Mini UAVs Skill Badge awarded to BudgetEngineer by Adafruit

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Ethan stopped by Adafruit\'s weekly Google+ Show-and-Tell to share the quadcopter he\'s working on with his dad. He designed a board for his PIC32 chip to talk to sensors and motor controllers for his mini UAV. Next on his list is adding a bluetooth communications module so he can control the quad copter from a computer or phone. We\'re very impressed with your circuit design skills, Ethan, congrats on earning the educational mini UAV badge!

High-altitude Balloon Skill Badge awarded to BudgetEngineer by Adafruit

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When Ethan got a camera for his 13th birthday, he couldn\'t help but imagine all the cool pictures he could take. He used a weather balloon to carry a payload containing his auto-snapping camera (modded with CHDK) into near space, then recovered it 90 miles away several hours later. Not only did Ethan build an impressive project that took some awesome photos, he gave a TEDx talk to share the project and inspire others. Ethan is a shining star maker whose curiosity inspires us big time. Keep up the great work, Ethan!

Drawdio! Skill Badge awarded to SuperAwesomeSylvia by Adafruit

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The only thing more awesome than a young person getting excited about making something is a young person with a theme song getting excited about making something! Meet Sylvia, the enthusiastic host of Sylvia\'s Super Awesome Maker Show. In her premier episode, she shares her build of the Adafruit Drawdio kit.

The Drawdio is a fun little project that turns your pencil into a musical device! Sylvia breaks down the construction in clear and easy to understand steps and shows video of her building it as she goes. Her soldering is pretty great and she even added some helpful tips to the video!

We can tell that not only did she enjoy building it, but judging by the video, she also had a lot of fun figuring out how it reacts to all kinds of different materials. She goes around trying different things to make different noises and even manages to play ode to joy!

Did we mention she has an awesome theme song? The music for the credits easily competes in terms of awesomeness.

Lasers Skill Badge awarded to Patrick McCabe by Adafruit

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We met Patrick on Adafruit\'s weekly \"SHOW-AND-TELL\" using Google+ hangouts (video here). Patrick not only created this fantastic robot; he really shows how great projects can be photographed as well. Rocky the robot was created out of the desire to have a robot that he could show and share with others. He wanted it to look good and be easy to use. We think Patrick has done a fantastic job and he\'s really learned how to use the laser cutter. Patrick congrats on the laser badge!

Robotics Skill Badge awarded to RobotGrrl by Adafruit

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During the process of building this learning pet, RobotGrrl picked up several tricks and methods that she gladly shares with the world in this instructable. Not only does she cover the basics of making a robot function, she goes through the entire process of making the articulated frame out of popsicle sticks, the skin out of felt, and putting it all together nicely. We really enjoyed the pleasant simplicity the final RoboBrrd conveys, but more importantly, we like what RobotGrrl really wants to do in the future. She says she would really like to develop these that can be used teaching aids in classrooms. The students would build them, and in the process learn about different aspects of construction and electronics. You know we fully support helping people learn, so this is particularly fantastic to us.