One of my better achievements when I was the Coordinator of IT and Learning Technologies was the creation of 2 Robolabs in the school board where we bussed in junior grade classes to lean how to program Lego creations that they built. The classes usually came for 2 consecutive days. The RoboLabs ran for about 10 years and thousands of children participated.
The best feedback we got was from parents who eMailed, 'My child came home from school today and actually talked about what they did in school!' Another great feedback was from teachers who stated, 'I have never seen children so engaged, especially the problem children!'
The RoboLabs came about after I visited MIT's Lego Learning lab in the late 90's. It was not easy to convince the planning and construction department at the board to paint the walls Lego colours, the ceiling Lego sky blue, and tile the floor in Lego colours. I emailed Lego head quarters in Denmark and they sent us 4 beautiful, large banners that we hung from the ceiling.
After I retired the labs were retired due to budget cuts. Not much money was saved as a class was permitted one field trip a year and the students were voting for the RoboLab, year after year.
I have always had an interest in Lego Mindstorms, versions 1 through 3 and the Technics range of vehicles. The RoboLabs used a visual programming language similar to Scratch to program the students robots to do their thing such as following a line, moving towards a light or noise, avoiding obstacles, etc.
Self isolating has meant that we have had to find ways to amuse ourselves so I bought one new (Amazon) and one used Technics car (eBay) and I planned on putting them together over 4 days each. I had not counted on Thavorn taking control and finishing the first car in one day, and the second car in 2 days. She also learned how to motorise the cars (steering and motion) through Bluetooth, driven from her smart phone.
I have not told her the second car will be able to be programmed to avoid obstacles and shut down if it tilts over 45 degrees. I think I will keep those functions for myself.
As for Jaidan, he is enjoying driving the first car around our home. It is great to find an activity that the whole family can get involved in.
Some pics:
Thavorn motorising the first car.
The second car gets finished.
The doors, rear spoiler and Engine hood are motorised opening and closing.
The pistons in the engine move.
The first car finished and the second car is getting started.
I have more motors on order (Lego.ca) and may decide to make the second car 4 wheel drive.
This learning activity combines creativity, physical dexterity, following directions, organisational skills, visual acuity, and problem solving. It's also a lot of fun :-)
TTYL
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