Fall Saturday SAVY, Week 3, Coding and Robotics (5th-6th)
Engaging Collaboration and Coding with Mars Rovers: Session 3 of SAVY-Coding and Robotics
Welcome to Session 3 of our exciting journey into the world of robotics! Over the last few Saturdays, we’ve witnessed an impressive display of creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork from our enthusiastic young robotics engineers. Today, the campers explored movement and sensor programming as students created Mars Rovers. As we progressed through this Saturday’s session, students continued to push the boundaries of their imagination, critical thinking, and problem-solving.
Mars Rover and Competition Challenges
We started the day by reviewing the components of a robot. Then, we watched the creation of NASA’s Mars Rover, Perseverance. Students used what they observed to brainstorm Mars Rover ideas as they completed individual brainstorm sketches. After the sketches were completed, students collaborated with their teammates to determine one Mars Rover design to complete Mars Challenges on the robot table mat.
For the challenge, students were tasked with building and creating a Mars Rover that was able to transport Mars rocks to different locations. Each team was given one and a half minutes to complete the challenge. The top-scoring teams were recognized as we finished the competition. Students were tested with perseverance and patience as they worked together to complete the challenge. I was impressed with the level of coding and innovation completed by these young engineers!
At the end of the day, we organized our kits and reflected on our experiences with robots and coding. In addition, several students indicated more interest in Python coding. I promised to include a cool resource! Please have your young engineer explore Python through code.org! If they access studio.code.org, then they will find several Python self-paced, fun activities. Happy Exploring!
It has been a pleasure working with your student in Fall Savy! Please continue to explore the world of robots through robotsguide.com and code.org. Until next time, keep creating and exploring STEM/Robotics.
Best regards,
Ms. Young
