Support Hunter's Senior Project!

Hello! My name is Hunter Stevenson, and I am currently a junior at Santa Susana High School. At my high school, all seniors are required to complete a final "senior project," which goes outside of the standard curriculum and provides a learning stretch for the student. My school is unique in that it offers several academies in which students can take more specialized classes. I am enrolled in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) emphasis, and as such I would like to use some of the skills that I have been learning about circuits and electricity in my senior project. 

I have decided that building a Musical Tesla Coil would accomplish this. A Musical Tesla Coil is a device that transforms energy into high voltage electrical charges, which create spectacular arcs in the air. These arcs create pressure waves, similar to thunder, that can be heard and controlled as musical notes. However, after researching exactly what it would take to build one from scratch, I quickly found it to be an incedibly challenging, time-consuming, and expensive process with unreliable results. So I began searching for alternatives. 

I then happened to stumble across oneTesla, a group of MIT students based in Medford which creates DIY Tesla Coil kits. You can find them here . After looking through their kits, I found that the oneTeslaTS model would suit my needs perfectly as a cost-effective alternative to building from scratch. The parts are high quality, easy to assemble, and reliable. The time saved from assembling and fine-tuning alone would pay for itself, not to mention the easy user interface and SD/MIDI integration. Unfortunately, while being a more cost-effective option, it still costs more than my high-school-student budget can afford. 

I would like to ask for your help to support me in this endeavor. My goal is to reach $700, and your donation will go directly towards purchase of the kit, manual, spare and replacement parts, usb interface, soldering equipment, and batteries, as well as shipping and GoFundMe costs. If funded, I will be able to showcase my work at the end of my senior year, and I may also post video to Youtube of it playing songs YOU request! I would be grateful for anything you have to offer, even if it's only a few dollars. If you are unable to donate, please spread the word and share with your friends and family. Thank you all so much for your time, I am so excited to get started on this project!