Mint tin charger charging a phone
Kids Workshop · Ages 9–12

Mint Tin
Charger Workshop

It actually works Take it home 3 hours Charge anything USB

Turn a little mint tin into a real working portable charger. Kids wire it up, pack it in, and walk out the door with something they built themselves that actually charges their phone, Switch, AirPods — anything USB. No soldering. No experience needed. Just curiosity and maker energy. ⚡

Mint tin charger

Design Your Own ✨

Your tin, your style, your circuit. Pick your materials, wire it up, pack it in, and make it completely yours — inside and out. The moment you plug in your device and it charges? Pure magic every single time.

💕 Designed by you! · iheartswitch
Step by step
What happens in 3 hours
01
See what we're building
I'll show them what they'll be making, and we'll talk about what they need to power in their own lives.
02
Learn how electricity works
Think of it like water flowing — amps and voltage — and how to read your own power needs (gaming devices, phones, fun toys).
03
Choose your materials
Walk up to the station, pick what you need, bring it back. Your build, your decisions.
04
Prep your wires
Measure, cut, and strip — a real maker skill. Help your neighbors if they get stuck.
05
Connect the circuit
Use pinch connectors to wire everything up. No soldering — clean, satisfying, and you did it.
06
Test it
Students test their circuit with a multimeter to make sure everything's working before it's sealed up.
07
Pack the tin
Fit all your components inside your tin like a puzzle. Snug, tidy, and so satisfying.
08
Decorate it
Stickers, washi tape, markers — make your tin completely yours before the big reveal.
09
The moment
Plug in your device. Watch it charge. You built that. Every kid loses their mind — every time.
10
Get your badge
Every maker earns a certificate of completion — now go show off your fashionable new power charger!
Alison Lewis
Meet your maker

Alison Lewis

UX/Product and Design Consultant · Parsons School of Design · UC Berkeley Executive Entrepreneurship

By day, Alison Lewis is a UX and design consultant for ambitious startups — part brand, part product design, part UX. She's consulted for BOSE, Boston Dynamics, and helped launch a 3D printer on the ISS (talk about out of this world!). She's also the author of SWITCH CRAFT: Battery-Powered Crafts to Make and Sew, published by Random House, and holds a Master's degree from Parsons School of Design and a Certificate from UC Berkeley's Executive Entrepreneurship Program. But teaching kids to build things with their hands? That's just for fun — she's run workshops from Korea to Austin because she loves tech as a tool for creative minds. It doesn't matter if she's debriefing a CEO or teaching a 9-year-old how to strip a wire. Innovation starts with curiosity, creativity, and fun. The rest comes later.

What to bring*

Your own mint tin — any brand, any flavor! Grab one before you come.
Your USB charging cable for whatever you want to charge.
Stickers provided — or bring your own to make your tin totally unique!
Maker energy — ready to try, ask questions, and help each other.
*Parents welcome to join in the fun!

Provided at workshop

9V battery
USB charging module
On/off switch
Hookup wire
Pinch connectors
LED indicator
Wire strippers
Hot glue gun
Fun stickers & decorations
Ages
9 – 12
Duration
3 hours
Per kid
$65 – $75
Take home
Working charger
More from iHeartSwitch
Explore the Series
This Workshop

The Power Workshop

Turn a mint tin into a real, working USB charger. No soldering, no experience needed — just curiosity and maker energy.

Coming Soon

The Superhero Workshop

Design and build a light-up costume with LEDs, dream up your alter ego, then walk the runway and show it off. (2-day workshop)

Coming Soon

The Game Workshop

Take apart real games, figure out how they work, then rebuild and remix the parts into something new. (2-day workshop)