Several years ago Michael Britt-Crane invited me to help with a workshop he was giving at MIT on how to build an earlier version of the SeaGliders you see on this page. He had mentioned the need to make some videos to go along with his written instructions. I was not able to help him at the time, but when I received a kit from Mast STEM Academy to prepare for a workshop in Shenzhen, I decided to record each step of the build.

1. Why build sea gliders?
2. Soldering
   • Safety
     1. Always wear eye protection.
     2. Do not touch the hot end of the soldering iron (you will get an instant 3rd degree burn).
     3. Always put the soldering iron back in its stand. Never put it down on your workbench.
     4. Keep the soldering iron's cable safe (away from hot end).
     5. Never pass a soldering iron to another person.
     6. Turn off (or unplug) the soldering iron when you are done with it.
     7. Wash your hands when you are done soldering
   • Tinning Your Soldering Iron
3. Power Supply & Limit Switch
   • Instructions
   • Video
   • Before you begin:
     • How do you know what length to cut the wires?
     • What does it mean to "tin the tip" of a soldering iron?
     • Why should you tin the tip of a soldering iron?
     • When should you tin the tip of a soldering iron?
     • What guage wire are you using?
4. Buoyancy Engine
   • Instructions
   • Video (Part 1)
   • Video (Part 2)
   • Before you begin:
     • How do you know how many BBs to put in the cylinder?
     • Which screws do you use to fasten the washer to the cylinder?
5. Circuit Board
   • Instructions
   • Video
6. Arduino Pro Mini
   • Instructions
   • Video
7. Bottle Cap Prep
   • Instructions
   • Video
8. Buoyancy Engine Assembly
   • Instructions
   • Video
9. Bottle Prep
   • Instructions
10. Wing & Rudder Design
    • Instructions
11. Ballast & Flight Principles
    • Instructions
12. Pre-Flight CheckList
    • Instructions
13. Programming
    • Khan Academy
    • Tinkercad
      • Intro to Virtual Circuits (Stoplight)