With some imagination you can create a variety of fun projects with an Arduino and a minimum of external parts, and one example of this is a reaction timer described by Arduino forum member boguz. The timer tests how long it takes for you to press a button after an LED turns on.
It is simple, but a lot of fun for beginners, and also some basic code to explain digital outputs, inputs and the serial monitor - which is used to display the instructions and results - for example:
For more information and to download the Arduino sketch, log in to the Arduino forum. And for more, we're on facebook, Google+, and twitter - so follow us for news and product updates as well.
If you're looking for an Arduino Uno-compatible board for various projects, choose what tens of thousands of others have done and use our Freetronics Eleven - the Arduino-Uno compatible with low-profile USB socket, onboard prototyping space and easy to view LEDs: