Overview
Thanks for taking the time to visit Dasher's JustGiving page.

Dasher was conceived and built by Ollie from Class 2 at Hoylandswaine school (with a little help from his dad) and Ollie would appreciate it if you could donate some money to the Hoylandswaine School Alliance. 

From everyone at No. 6, Merry Christmas!

Building Dasher and his Stable
The concept of Dasher started off in the summer of 2021with Ollie and his dad sat around the dining table, a pencil and a scrap of paper. It wasn't long before Ollie had described a reindeer, a stable, a little helper that came out of the side and some flashing lights. Some rough sketches were made by his dad and soon it all had Ollie's seal of approval!

Next came a Raspberry Pi, a reindeer head and a wooden pallet and then some serious thinking about how to design, measure and build a stable. Some cladding and more (!) power tools arrived courtesy of Ollie's grandad, some CLS timber from the lumber yard and some fixtures from Screwfix / KDA and so began twenty minutes a day of measuring, sawing, nailing, screwing, wire stripping, soldering, wiring, lighting, gluing, door hanging, felting, painting and testing. 

Ollie was BUSY! 

After helping with the measuring, the screwing, the nailing, choosing the buttons, Ollie still found time to stress-test the entire construction and give direction to the project. His dad filled in some of the other bits that needed doing and before long a stable was built. 

A snow machine was purchased and deconstructed so it fitted in the overhang, the Raspberry Pi was programmed to turn lights on and off, run the snow machine and move some servos to open and close the doors. A plan was put together so that Dasher's sign could move and with some more thought, servos were introduced to turn Dasher's head from left to right and tilt him backwards and forwards. More programming ensued to control all of those and speakers fitted for the sound effects. Dasher needed a voice and so did his little mouse helper. These were recorded by Ollie's mum and a couple of stories put together. Finally a small area was dug out of the garden, some sleepers laid and cemented in and Dasher was moved to his home for Christmas.

Building Dasher was a real family effort and took place throughout 2021 with some improvements for 2022. Please feel free to come and visit him whenever you like and we really hope you and your children enjoy Dasher as much as we do.