18 Spring / Printemps 2017 electronics in an effort to reconnect with Emma. Although her project went beyond the introductory knowledge of microcontrollers and sensors, it was enough for them to converse, learn, and experiment with embedded systems together. Both were deeply engaged in the conversation when the waiter arrived with the chocolate chip pancakes. As he placed the food on the table, he looked at the small development board connected to a breadboard through a mess of colorful jumper wires and asked Emma, “What are you building?” Let’s pause here for a moment and consider this scenario. Can you spot the fictional element? Dario Schor (MIEEE) Troy Denton (MIEEE) Witold Kinsner (LFIEEE) Magellan Aerospace University of Manitoba JCA Electronics The Impact of The Impact of Hands-On Workshops E mma and her grandfather, Jacob, walked into a café on a fall Saturday morning and ordered pancakes. While they waited, she pulled out her laptop and a box containing parts for her project for Halloween night. Unlike in previous years, she was more concerned with developing an M&M© sorting machine to “save the red ones for last” than which costume she was going to wear. So far, her prototype consisted of a microcontroller reading a luminosity sensor to determine the color of the candy. She had attached an RGB LED and programmed it to display the same color from the sensor to confirm it was functioning correctly. Jacob, a retired accountant, had recently attended an IEEE workshop at the public library to learn about