Arduino Day 2026 · Hybrid Micro-Lab · Wetzikon–Zürich + Twitch

Paper as
Interface

School of Tomorrow’s AI joins Arduino Day 2026 with a hybrid live micro-lab led by Lina Lopes. In three hours, paper becomes circuit, feedback, instrument, and expressive interface — part open studio, part workshop, part prototype in public.

Watch on Twitch ↗︎ Free entry · Read details

What this
micro-lab is.

“Turn a sheet of paper into an expressive interface
using simple electronics, fast thinking, and public experimentation.”

— Arduino Day 2026 · School of Tomorrow’s AI

This session is built as a live design sprint: not a polished classroom demo, but an open making process. The core challenge is simple and strong — to create, in three hours, an expressive paper interface using low-cost electronics.

The goal is not only to make something that works, but to think through paper as a material for interaction: paper that sings, paper that lights up as feedback, paper that becomes part of a collective instrument, or paper that behaves like a poetic controller.

It speaks directly to a pedagogy of dirty prototypes, fast iteration, and public debugging. The process matters as much as the object.

Free Beginner-friendly Paper electronics Open studio energy Hybrid participation

The core
challenge.

Create, in three hours, an expressive paper interface with simple electronics.

Prototype in public

The event is structured around a live build. Rather than presenting a finished object, Lina will think aloud, test fast, improvise, and show how decisions emerge through hands-on making. The audience can follow the logic, the mistakes, the corrections, and the transformation of concept into circuit.

Possible directions

Depending on the energy of the session, the prototype can branch into one or more expressive variations:

Paper that sings — paper becomes a sonic trigger, voice surface, or tiny instrument.
Paper that lights up — LEDs act as feedback, signal, rhythm, or visual emotion.
Paper for collective interaction — multiple hands, contacts, or bodies activate the same circuit or interface.

Ideal structure
for 3 hours.

A compact format that combines context, demo, making, debugging, and reflection.

Block 1 · 10 min

Opening & framing

Welcome, context, materials on the table, challenge framing, and a short introduction to the spirit of the session.

Block 2 · 30 min

Three micro demos

Very short demonstrations: conductive paper thinking, LED or buzzer feedback, and one simple input strategy.

Block 3 · 80 min

Main live build

The central prototype is built live, step by step, with room for improvisation and adaptation.

Block 4 · 20 min

Public debugging

Error is treated as method: what failed, what is unstable, and how debugging becomes visible and pedagogical.

Block 5 · 20 min

Aesthetic or conceptual variation

The prototype is pushed beyond function and into expression, form, gesture, or collective interaction.

Block 6 · 10 min

Closing reflections

What worked, what failed, what deserves a second iteration, and where this kind of material research can go next.

Who can join.

Makers & educators

For people who want accessible, low-cost ways of teaching electronics, interaction, or physical computing through material experimentation.

Artists & designers

For those curious about interface as expression — not only engineering a system, but shaping a response, gesture, or poetic interaction.

Curious beginners

No advanced coding background is required. The session is open to people who learn by watching, testing, and building with others.

How to join.

Event details

WhereSchool of Tomorrow’s AI · Wetzikon, Zürich
FormatHybrid event: in-person attendance + Twitch live stream
CostFree
LanguageEnglish, with room for informal multilingual exchange on site
AudienceOpen to makers, artists, educators, students, and curious locals
NoteIdeal for people interested in quick experiments rather than polished final objects

Suggested materials on site

Paper, cardboard, copper tape, clips, or conductive materials
Simple components such as LEDs, buzzers, resistors, and jumper wires
A basic Arduino-compatible workflow or tiny microcontroller experiment
Prototyping tools for quick testing rather than polished assembly
Optional references: Paperduino Tiny, paper Arduino builds, and handmade circuit examples

The host.

Host · Lina Lopes

Artist, educator, creative technologist.

Lina Lopes is the founder of School of Tomorrow’s AI. Her work moves across art, education, speculative prototyping, physical computing, and embodied interaction. She often treats technology not as a final answer, but as a material for inquiry.

This Arduino Day session reflects that method directly: a small public lab where paper, electronics, and design become a shared field for experimentation.

linalopes.info ↗︎ School site ↗︎

Frequently
asked.

Yes. The page is structured as a free hybrid event with open access for online viewers and a welcoming in-person format.

No. The emphasis is on simple electronics, material experimentation, and learning through observation and prototyping.

Yes. The event is designed to work both as an in-person micro-lab and as a live Twitch session for remote viewers.

Maybe, maybe not. The value of the session is precisely that it happens in public, with room for iteration, detours, and productive failure.

Arduino Day 2026 · Open call to curious people

Join the stream or
step into the micro-lab.

Come for the material curiosity, the quick experiments, and the public debugging. Stay for the possibility that a sheet of paper can become a small interface, a tiny instrument, or a prototype for another way of learning.

Open Twitch link ↗︎ Back to School of Tomorrow’s AI