We learned how to turn an LED on and off but what if you want a level brightness in between? We’ll be using the Arduino’s PWM pins and learn a new function for controlling the brightness of LEDs. Then we’ll explore RGB LEDs which allow you to mix different levels of red, green and blue to create a nearly endless array of colors.

We kick off our journey into the world of electronics by getting to know the Arduino UNO board and how to get it up and running with the Arduino IDE software (which is free). With the Arduino properly connected to your computer or laptop, it’s time to get to know the parts of a sketch and even code your first few programs! By the end of the lesson, you’ll know how to turn on and off the onboard LED with code as well as make it blink, you’ll also build your first circuit with an LED diode and make it blink in a variety of patterns as you get comfortable using your first code functions.