This Dad Built an Entertaining Activity Board Full of Lights and Buttons for His Son to Press

Like most makers, Michael Teeuw’s home is filled with the devices and contraptions he has made over the years. And, in a twist that will be surprising to precisely zero of you who are parents, his young son Enzo really likes pressing the buttons on his creations. For obvious reasons, Teeuw would prefer Enzo didn’t do that—particularly when the button does something like open the blinds—so he decided to build an activity board to keep Enzo entertained.

Teeuw wanted the activity board to be easy for Enzo to reach, so he decided to build it as a box that fits into one of the partitioned cubes of an IKEA book shelf. The front panel of the activity board is edge-lit laser cut acrylic, which gives it a really high-quality look. That’s placed on the front of a simple plywood box that contains all of the electronics, and even a dummy motherboard that’s painted black for a cyberpunk aesthetic.

The real appeal, of course, is in the various controls designed to keep Enzo entertained. There are arcade buttons, toggle switches, fader-style sliders, and even a rotary dial. But, the coup de grâce is a small HDMI display connected to a Raspberry Pi running MagicMirror. Because MagicMirror is so configurable, Teeuw was able to make it simulate contacting Enzo’s favorite cartoon characters. Even most adults would find the activity board irresistible, and it’s sure to keep Enzo entertained for a long time.