About 8 years ago, I took a great workshop in Colorado built around Logo and and Lego through the Logo Foundation . It was my first real exposure to Mindstorms. I took many ideas back to my technology lab after that summer including a whole unit on Robotics inspired by the workshop. One of the cool things I was taught by the facilitator was modding Lego pieces to create a light sensor. This was something I taught some of my eighth graders to do and we always had a nice supply of inexpensive light sensors to use in our projects.
This article on building a Lego temperature sensor made me think of that workshop. The instructions are clear and there are lots of pictures. I wish someone would write a book on modifying Lego pieces. I know there are purists out there who think the bricks should never be tampered with, but if I can get a student interested in electronics or design by letting them go at a Lego brick with a Dremel tool, then I think it's worth it.
(Note: This site has other sensors you can build. There is also a link to another site with more modding examples, including the light sensor that is similar to the one I was taught to build.)
[Image captured from Building a RCX compatiable Temperature Sensor: http://el.media.mit.edu/Logo-foundation/workshops/previous.html]
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