We had our first FLL meeting this week. It was fantastic to have time for a meeting to just organize the team, set goals and rules for team participation, and get to know each other. The team will be working through NXT programming tutorials for the next few weeks to improve their programming skills for the upcoming missions in August.
The team consists of three incoming fourth graders, four incoming fifth graders, one incoming sixth grader, and one incoming seventh grader. Six of our nine team members made up our first FLL team last year. I consider last season a success since they all returned. I am excited to see the team grow, in part, so the workload isn't as heavy for each team member. It looks to be a great season.
Friday, April 24, 2015
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Idaho TECH Challenge
Our school participated in the NASA sponsored Idaho TECH Challenge competition this spring. It was a fantastic experience for the students. I would recommend it to any group. LEGO Technics are used to design a Mars Rover. The rover competes in weight, speed, hill climb, rock collection, and a blind driving test. Teams are also evaluated on their lab notebooks, team poster, and presentation. It was a lot to complete with a team of only three fourth grade students, but I think we will have a bigger team next year. Fun! Fun! Fun!
http://ed.isu.edu/Idaho_TECH/index.shtml
http://ed.isu.edu/Idaho_TECH/index.shtml
Friday, January 16, 2015
Family Engineering Night
Last night was our school's third annual Family Engineering Night. I am able to run the event all on my own thanks to the fantastic kits by Family Engineering (http://www.familyengineering.org/). The kits come with activities prepped and ready to go. It is important to remember to purchase the guide which comes separate from the kits. Even in the third year of holding the event, I am able to add fun new activities to the ones that came prepared in the initial kit.
The main activity last night was having families create an artistic robot out of craft materials, a small motor, and a AA battery. I waited to offer help until it was needed, and we had a variety of creative ideas. Caution: Some ideas did involve ink from the washable markers creating a splatter effect.
The main activity last night was having families create an artistic robot out of craft materials, a small motor, and a AA battery. I waited to offer help until it was needed, and we had a variety of creative ideas. Caution: Some ideas did involve ink from the washable markers creating a splatter effect.
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