Recently, we entertained a special visitor at Little Hearts: Andy Anno, originally from Germany and now the owner and manager of an escape room in Phnom Penh. Andy has been living in Cambodia for about two and a half years, and during that time, he has grown to truly appreciate the country and its people. Earlier this year, he opened his escape room, a venue where players work together to solve mysteries and crack puzzles in order to escape a locked chamber before time runs out.
After Tony and some of the kids visited his escape room, something unexpected happened. Aside from enjoying the game, the kids became deeply curious about how everything inside worked—the automated doors, the sensors, the electronic triggers, the hidden mechanisms. They asked Andy many questions after their escape experience, and this sparked an idea in his mind. A few weeks later, he came to visit us at Little Hearts and organized a hands-on lesson about how electricity is created and used. And it turned into an amazing learning experience for everyone—students as well as staff!
Electric Moments
Andy taught the students how electricity occurs. They started by learning how batteries work, and even got to build their own, lime-powered battery. Yes, you can build a battery capable of lighting a small LED using just limes and a few wires! The excitement on the kids’ faces when electricity flowed from the limes was priceless.
Andy then explained how magnets, coils, and batteries interact, helping the students understand the basics behind electric circuits, motors, and generators. The group explored how the movement of magnets can create an electric current, seeing firsthand how generators work.
They then built small solar-powered devices, which sparked a lot of discussion about renewable energy and how it’s used around the world. For the older and more advanced students, Andy also led a soldering session where they created DIY flashlights and practiced essential electronics skills.
Questions and Lots of Excitement
The energy during the workshop was palpable. The kids asked so many questions; they wanted to understand every wire, every connection, every spark of power. Those who love building and mechanical things were especially thrilled. Dara, who will be starting his technical school studies this coming December, said that he really enjoyed the activity because it relates directly to what he wants to pursue in the future.
For Andy, the electricity workshop was a rewarding event. He loved seeing how curious and creative the kids were. The hands-on approach made learning not only fun but inspiring, the kind of experience that can ignite long-term interest in engineering, science, and problem-solving.
It helped that Andy is a trained carpenter, hence good with his hands and adept at building things. He started learning about electronics very early on. “I got into it because I never understood why people would throw an appliance away when often only a 10-cent component was defective,” he explains. “That motivated me to learn more. I always repaired everything myself, and later I began taking on repair jobs for people who needed stuff fixed—mostly remote-controlled drones.”
For the kids, it was an adventure, one that opened their eyes to how everyday technology works and encouraged them to explore more.
A huge thank you to Andy for sharing his time, passion, and knowledge! And to the students, for showing such excitement, creativity, and willingness to learn.