Are you ready for creative coding and crafting?
Six weekday evenings at 5pm, Oct & Nov 2026
…and if you think this is just for kids, think again!
Glow Your Own is also known as GYO
Registration for GYO will open at 10am, Thursday 27 August 2026. Follow @Oxford_if for updates.
If you’re new to this, or are one of the hundreds of people who’ve joined in before, welcome! This page is about the sessions, how to get your kit and how the programme will be run.
There may be a lot of information that’s new to you, so please bear with it.
We promise it will all make sense over the six weeks.
See listings for previous GYO sessions in the archive
If you want to buy your own kit from Amazon, this is what you need:
Complete kit (Arduino and components) CHECKED AS CORRECT Mon 13 October 2025
Registration for GYO will open at 10am, Thursday 27 August 2026.
There are worksheets to help you follow along. Worksheets are be emailed to all those registered for GYO and also available for download from the GYO pages related to that week’s session. All previous GYO sessions are here: https://if-oxford.com/gyo
The first GYO Session doesn’t require the physical Arduino and LED kits, but the team will introduce these while you build your first circuit on Tinkercad (see below.)
The six sessions
Six 1.5 hour sessions October—November
You’ll get the most out of the project by coming to all six sessions, either hosted live online or on demand later.
5—6pm is an online class hosted on Zoom: the GYO team brings together people from several science and arts organisations who will join in coding and making while you follow along at home. There is a lively chat box if you have a question, but we ask that your cameras and mics are turned off because the recorded session will be hosted on YouTube later — for you to watch the sessions in your own time.
Subscribe to the IF Oxford YouTube channel for automatic updates
6—6.30pm is a troubleshooting session continued on Zoom: this is the opportunity to get live help on anything that isn’t working as it should. The recording is stopped and we invite cameras and mics to be turned on to go through every snag that’s cropped up. In the final half hour, the team answers questions and sometimes gets ideas for the next session, so you can either leave or stay connected for this part whether or not you’ve got to the end of the session’s lesson plan.
There are worksheets to help you follow along. Worksheets will be emailed to those registered for GYO 2025 and also available for download from the GYO pages: if-oxford.com/gyo
Get your Arduino kit
If you already have an Arduino kit, you can use it again.
Please note: GYO session 1 doesn’t require the physical Arduino and LED kits. The team will introduce electronic components while you build your first circuit on Tinkercad in GYO session 1.
Everyone has similar GYO materials so we can work through the coding and circuit building together.
If you you need to get a kit, there are three options for you:
- you can request a free kit from the Festival (UK only, limited supply)
- you can request a kit from the Festival and make a donation of your choice (UK only)
- you can buy your own kit/s
All ‘free’ and subsidised Arduino kits have now been sent out and if donations are forthcoming, we will be able to send out more. Donate here: https://if-oxford.com/donate
IF Oxford is a registered charity and has received a small grant to cover the full or partial cost of the Arduino kits so everyone can develop new digital skills.
If you want to buy your own kit from Amazon, this is what you need:
Complete kit (Arduino and components) CHECKED AS CORRECT Mon 13 October 2025
If buying these separately, you will need:
Basic Starter Kit (No Arduino)
There are lots of Arduino options available and we will advise on our recommendation when GYO has started — this is because in some years we have depleted the stocks on Amazon and had to find and recommend alternatives. We will advise which one to buy when GYO has started, but if you want to get ready now, will be using an Arduino, a breadboard, some LEDs, a photoresistor and a Servo Motor. On 29 September 2025, this option was available for about £36: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08B4JY95V/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Tinkercad and the online classroom
Online learning can be difficult, but GYO tries to make it as simple as possible.
The live workshops use Zoom: zoom.us
The coding happens using Tinkercad: tinkercad.com
There is no cost to participate or to use these online platforms. Everyone who signs up to GYO gets a unique code to join a virtual classroom on Tinkercad in October. You don’t have to use the code we send you to use Tinkercad, but if you do, the GYO team can access your code blocks remotely. This makes it easier to help if things aren’t working properly for you.
The computer you use for Tinkercad needs a USB port (type A or C, depending on the connection to your Arduino and / or adaptors.)
You can use two devices with screens (eg. a computer and a phone), or if you have enough space on your computer screen, you can follow along with Zoom and Tinkercad open at the same time.
tinkercad.com/classrooms-resources
Alternatively, you can catch up with the on demand video.
Glow Your Own is a collaboration between:
