Ayah Bdeir is an evangelist, and the message the 33-year-old Beirut native wants to spread is the power of electronics, the glory of open source hardware and the gospel of the Maker Movement, all of which are embodied by her company, littleBits. The New York-based start-up, which Bdeir founded in 2011, sells over 60 different modular, color-coded electronic components — sensors, transmitters, keyboards, motors, microphones, switches — which can be snapped together with magnets “like digital Lego,” she says, to make a wide range of things, from synthesizers to Ferris wheels.

Bdeir, who is an MIT media lab alum, a senior TED fellow and, now, a CEO with 110 employees, has encountered numerous designers using littleBits to make prototypes of industrial devices, but she seems most excited about the way littleBits makes it easy for children, especially young girls, to learn about technology and engineering through play and experimentation. That’s why she’s so enthusiastic about the Bubble Bot, a DIY “bubble maker, based on a remixed version of our digital flute, made with a fan,” she says with a smile. “You can make it activate based on light or sound or whatever you like.” One can never be too young — or old — to get creative with electronics after all. To inspire the inner kid in you, check out the step-by-step guide below on how to make and use your own Bubble Bot. You may become an engineer yet.

What you’ll need:

1 littleBits fan

1 littleBits slide dimmer

1 littleBits bargraph

1 littleBits power

1 littleBits mounting board

1 littleBits battery + cable

2 littleBits glue dots

1 littleBits paper template

Bubble solution in a bowl (mix 2 tbsp of dish soap with 1 cup of water)

Optional decorating materials

Tape

Step 1

First, build the circuit, so that you have power. Snap the 9 volt battery to the power module.

Step 2

Add the dimmer, which is the thin circuit: this will control the strength of the fan. Then add on the bar graph, so that you can see the Bubble Bot turn on and off. It’ll also check how much power is going to the fan. Finally, plug in the fan.

Step 3

Snap on the circuit to the mounting board, so that the whole circuit is stable and the device has a solid base. Then, turn on the fan to check that it’s working.

Step 4

Make the actual body of the Bubble Bot with the cardboard sheet that comes in the set. Decorate it before you fold it into a rectangular tube. You could also make your own in different shapes (it could be conical if you like). Then, attach the fan to the inside of the tube, making sure that the air blows into the tube.

Step 5

Now, stick the Bubble Bot body to the mounting board using the Glue Dots.

Step 6

Pour bubble solution into a small plate or bowl. With the fan completely off, dip the tip of the bubble tube into the bubble solution. Lift the Bobble Bot out, and slowly turn on the dimmer to start the fan and blow some bubbles.

Step 7

If you want bigger bubbles, you can cut fringes along the edge of the tube, which allows it to hold more bubble solution.