Last month, we sat down with Mike Kenig, a hobbyist and one of our longest running subscribers to Thimble. We discussed his experience with our kits and why he continues to be a valued member of our community.
Mike went to college to get a degree in math, with a minor in computer science. At the time, he was really interested in computers, video games, and understanding how early-stage electronics worked. Even though he learned coding and programming, he was never able to dig deep enough into his college coursework to learn about the hardware of electronics.
With so much interest in exploring electronics, Mike wanted more than just computer programming. He wanted to complete the rest of his knowledge and understand what happens behind the scenes.
“Think about it! You can use your car or the air conditioner in your house almost every day, but without understanding how these things work internally, it becomes very difficult to know if something goes wrong, let alone how to fix it!”
Mike found out about Thimble through our social media and was immediately excited to try our kits because they seemed easy for him to gain a basic understanding. He especially liked the learning modules that helped him build the kits. What set Thimble apart for him were the forums, where subscribers could contact one another, get answers for issues they run into, and generally brainstorm together to find fun new uses for each kit.
“Having the top down troubleshooting information was really helpful for me.”
We must admit, having a member like Mike in our community is truly something special. Along with sending us a wonderful card for the holidays, he is one of the most active members on our forum and is always looking to help other fellow subscribers when they get stuck on a kit.
“I was learning a lot from the earlier kits and wanted to help others. I have a little bit of a teaching background, so it’s enjoyable for me to help others on the forum to make sure they get the most out of the kits.”
“Having the ability to take my creativity to another level, and being able to expand and change around the projects is awesome, too.”
With one of our older projects, the LED Cube displayed in his office, and a horn attachment hack on our WiFi Robot, he definitely keeps busy finding new ways to transform his kits!
When we asked Mike about what comes to mind when he talks about Thimble, he said:
“You’re not just getting an electronic kit that you put together. You’re getting the hard work, the coding so that you control how the project works, along with the freedom and creativity (to be able to explore further).”
Mike hopes that when his two kids grow older, he will be able to introduce them to Thimble kits as well. He also mentioned how great Thimble is for schools and general education. “I believe that everyone should at least learn what it means to program, so they can have an understanding of how things work at a basic level. Programming is all around us.”
The Thimble experience is different for everyone, but one thing that always catches the customers eye is the orange box that our kit comes inside of. Mike loves going to his mailbox and seeing his Thimble kit has arrived. “It’s like Christmas, but for any day of the year. Thimble has had such a great impact on myself, but my kids are a little too young to learn the product right now. I have been showing them off to some of the children in our neighborhood, and they’ve really enjoyed them.”
Mike’s experience is just one of the ways that we are fortunate enough to see that our kits are made for all ages, and really gives our users a strong foundation for mastering their engineering and programming skills. Mike is only one great example of a subscriber thriving from the use of our kits. We are so excited to learn more from customers like Mike as our community continues to grow, and we continue to grow with it.
To learn more about Thimble, visit our website here. If you are part of the Thimble family and want to share your experience and be featured, email us at team@thimble.io!