2020-2021 5th Grade Classrooms
Our team created three activities to do with the 5th graders to let them experience STEM. The three activities were Lego towers, penny boats and scribbler bots. Lego towers was where we had teams of about 2 or 3 kids working together to build the tallest tower. They had three different challenges, first, there was a challenge where they couldn’t talk or plan before they built for 3 minutes. After that, they had a two minute plan time but when they were building, they couldn’t talk. Lastly, they had the whole minutes to talk and build at the same time. This activity focused on the teamwork, critical thinking and problem solving portion of robotics.
The second activity was penny boats. That challenge was to build an aluminum boat that can hold the most pennies. This activity had a 5 minute build time. After that there was a contest to see who’s boat could hold the most pennies.
For the scribbler bot activity we assigned one of our team members to about 2 or 3 of the kids. In these small groups, they worked on using basic block coding to make certain shapes on a blank page. The scribbler bots have a place to put a marker and when they are coded to drive, the markers would draw on the paper as they move. At the very end of our visit, we asked them questions. Some of the questions were; what was the hardest challenge you faced today, what did you learn from our visit, was it harder to work together or alone, and we asked if they were interested in robotics. A lot of them were and we told them about when they enter 7th and 8th grade, they would be able to enter the LEGO league program we offer. Lastly, we thanked them for allowing us to come in and share some of the great things robotics can offer.
The second activity was penny boats. That challenge was to build an aluminum boat that can hold the most pennies. This activity had a 5 minute build time. After that there was a contest to see who’s boat could hold the most pennies.
For the scribbler bot activity we assigned one of our team members to about 2 or 3 of the kids. In these small groups, they worked on using basic block coding to make certain shapes on a blank page. The scribbler bots have a place to put a marker and when they are coded to drive, the markers would draw on the paper as they move. At the very end of our visit, we asked them questions. Some of the questions were; what was the hardest challenge you faced today, what did you learn from our visit, was it harder to work together or alone, and we asked if they were interested in robotics. A lot of them were and we told them about when they enter 7th and 8th grade, they would be able to enter the LEGO league program we offer. Lastly, we thanked them for allowing us to come in and share some of the great things robotics can offer.
2019-2020 Lego League Team #37606
This year we mentored Lego League team #37606 for middle schoolers. We met with these students during after school a couple of times a week and became their mentors. We taught them how to code and build robot attachments. We also worked on presentation and interview skills. Their project this year focused on how to help improve the world by getting rid of waste. They competed in Johnston on December 15.
2019-2020 Elkader Family STEM Festival
We were an exhibitor at the Dubuque Area Family STEM Festival. We had a STEM Soda Straw rocket activity for those in attendance for the second time. During the Rocket activity participants were given a template that creates a rocket that can be launched from a soda straw. They were challenged to modify the design to see how the changes impact the rocket performance. We also had our FTC display set up and talked about our program.
2018-19 Sponsor Invention Contest
This year we hosted an invention contest for area elementary students in 2nd through 6th grade. We wanted to promote problem solving and creative thinking for younger students. We shared this challenge with all school districts in our AEA and we had 5 school participate. The challenge was for the students to invent a new kitchen gadget. The entries had to include a video explanation, sketches, material list, and process of how. Winners were awarded with a KIWI box to promote STEM thinking and innovation.
2018-19 Lego League Team #37606
This year we welcomed and mentored a new Lego League team #37606 for middle schoolers. We met with these students during intervention time and after school and became their mentors. We hosted several days after school to teach coding and building robot attachments. We also worked on presentation and interview skills. We helped them make connections with a NASA engineer. Their project focused on providing healthy food replenishable food through space gardening. They competed in Des Moines on December 8th and earned the core value award.
2018-19 Dubuque Family STEM Festival
We were an exhibitor at the Dubuque Area Family STEM Festival. We lead a hands-on STEM Soda Straw rocket activity for those in attendance. During the Rocket activity participants were given a template that creates a rocket that can be launched from a soda straw. They were challenged to modify the design to see how the changes impact the rocket performance. We also had our FTC display set up and talked about our program.
2017-18 First Grade Outreach
One the first grade classes came up to learn about our Robotics Program. We talked about thing like what autonomous code is and how the coding make the robot move. We showed them our programming and did a practice run for them.
Here, we are running our autonomous code for the kids.
2016-2017 Outreach Program
For our 2016-2017 Outreach program, we worked with our school's Stars Program. The Stars Program is an after school program for elementary students that need somewhere to go after the school day ends. We held an activity day, where we taught the young students about robots and 3D printing.