Your Chance to Become Part of Arduino Days 2026

I’ll admit it: I love Arduino! And can’t believe it’s almost time for Arduino Days again! It seems unbelievable that it’s been almost two decades since I ordered my original 16MHz ATmega168-powered Arduino Diecimila “Prototype Limited Edition” from SparkFun on the advice of a robot vacuum hacking book written by todbot. Now in 2026 the $44 Arduino UNO Q has a 2GHz quad-core CPU, runs Linux, and can even program itself from a simple prompt thanks to tools like OpenClaw – all for only $5 more than the inflation-adjusted $39 I paid for my Diecimila! And from the Diecimila (meaning “10,000” – the number of boards Arduino had produced by that date) to the one-board-for-everything UNO, we now prepare ourselves for Arduino’s 21st anniversary gift to the community: the octa-core, 16GB, 40 TOPS VENTUNO Q. My journey as a maker began with Arduino, and Arduino has been a continual, treasured companion along the way, with events like Arduino Days being some of the greatest highlights.

Arduino’s virtual events and livestreams have always been a blast. I remember excitedly joining in via the comments when Arduino co-founder Massimo Banzi began the Bar Arduino series at the beginning of the pandemic. I first met Massimo in person at Arm’s AIoT Dev Summit the previous December, and almost missed my plane from being so wrapped up in conversation about how we might create an Arduino-based Pebble-style smartwatch. I was so inspired by the livestream that I reached out to the team via email, and was greeted by Ubi de Feo, who remains one of my best friends on the planet to this day. I never imagined when writing that email that I would one day stand in the office from which these amazing devices are born. But that’s getting ahead of the story…

My blossoming relationship with Arduino brought me to the in-person Arduino Days 2023 in Chicago, which also celebrated the launch of the 32-bit UNO R4, marking a departure from the 8-bit UNO devices that began my maker journey. Connecting, drinking, and eating with Massimo, Fabio Violante, Silvi Galfo, and so many other amazing folks from the Arduino team at the event made me feel like part of the family. I even volunteered to give an off-the-cuff talk when it turned out there were slots still available during presentations that afternoon. The many inspiring projects and stories shared in-person and virtually at the event just made me that much more excited about Arduino and the limitless possibilities it enables.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, Massimo messaged me later that year, inviting me to be his guest at Arduino’s HQ in Turin. I got to spend the entire day touring the facilities with their co-founder, learning about top-secret new projects like the adorable little wheeled robot that turned out to be Alvik, drinking too much espresso, and even giving an impromptu soldering class to Arduino marketing staff. Italy’s automotive capital reminded me in many ways of Detroit, with industrial spaces being turned into fresh new startups and creative spaces. And I was overjoyed to return to Turin last year for the launch of the UNO Q at the Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile.

Which brings us in a very roundabout way to this year’s Arduino Days event. For me, the annual celebration is a chance to reflect on everything that Arduino has brought to my life, while being inspired by new projects and stories from all over the world. I’ll be organizing an event locally, with hopes of enabling even more folks to create with technology, as well as eagerly watching along on the livestream.

There’s still time for you to organize a local event too, or join one of over 200 taking place around the world. In fact, if you sign up now, you can receive an exclusive discount code for up to 20% off of Arduino products! And after you’ve signed up, why not check out last year’s livestream while you wait for the big day(s) this March 27th-28th!