Fall Saturday SAVY, Week 1, Coding and Robotics (5th-6th)
The Exciting Adventures of Our Future Robotics Engineers
The first Saturday of class was nothing short of extraordinary. With anticipation and curiosity in the air, our budding engineers embarked on a thrilling adventure that would unleash their creativity, problem-solving skills, and passion for technology. Let’s dive into the incredible experiences of these young minds as they took their first steps into the captivating realm of robotics.
Getting to Know the Robots:
We started the day with an introduction to robotics through the lens of robotics engineers who work together on a team to complete projects. To practice working as a team, students paired together to complete their first challenge: Pass the Brick. In this challenge, students built and programmed a robotic arm. Then, students worked together to complete two team challenges by stacking Lego bricks with their robotic arms. After the challenge was completed, students engaged in discussions about what worked best and what could be improved.
For the next part of the class, students were introduced to various types of robots, ranging from simple line-following robots to more complex humanoid robots. They learned about the different components that make up a robot, such as sensors, processors, and microcontrollers. To apply and identify different components of robots, students participated in our robot dance party by building Break Dance robots. Students engaged in exploration with programming, challenging themselves by making modifications to coding and robots. We had a great time as students presented dancing bots that synced to music or their voices!
During the second half of the day, students identified different functions of robots and observed robots of the future. Robotsguide.com is a great resource where students can engage with robotics engineers and see live videos of innovative robots in action.
As students engaged in a discussion about different robots, this led to a mini-lesson on the engineering design process. To apply the engineering design process, students started the next challenge, “Hopper Races”. In this challenge, students build a basic hopper robot that mimics the body of an insect. From here, students must build and program a movement mechanism. To start the challenge, all students sketched their brainstorming ideas on graph paper and then discussed their designs with their partners. Once both students agreed on the design, students built the Hopper bot. We finished the day with just enough time to test so that students could redesign their prototypes for our Hopper Races coming up next Saturday.
Throughout the week, please engage in discussions with your young engineer about different types of robots and identify robots we encounter in our daily lives. Next Saturday, we will look closer into Space Science and how robots are changing the way we explore space. Students will design, build, and code autonomous rovers that will complete different missions on an obstacle course. To learn more about coding and programming with Lego Spike Prime, please explore the Spike Prime education App! The future certainly looks bright with these brilliant minds at the helm of innovation! I look forward to seeing your child’s smiling face and curiosity about robots next Saturday as we continue to explore the exciting world of Robotics!
Have a wonderful evening,
Ms. Young
