Week 2 Comes to a Close

It’s hard to believe we had to say goodbye to another set of campers this week! As one student stated when we were leaving – “Well it just feels like Monday to me! I can’t believe we’re already leaving!” There were some tears shed because it was the last day – extra hugs were given and we took it as a good sign that they had a great week together!

Working together to build their simple motor.

The red and blue groups got to spend the day with Dr. Bruce Walcott and his team exploring the different fields of engineering, building simple motors, and playing with Ozobots – a small robot that uses light sensors to read where to go. The students were surprised at the small amount materials and effort needed to make a motor! The purple and brown groups spent their day with Dr. Janet Lumpp and got to dive deep into circuits. They learned why circuits work, what it means to be open and closed, and got to build some of their own circuits. The small challenges were fun for the students and they loved the lights and noises when they successfully completed a circuit! In robotics, today was creative build day. And boy were the students creative! This group this week really embraced the idea of creativity. They had awesome stories to go along with their builds and were very excited to program it to do quite a variety of things. I hope they shared about it with you tonight!

Completing a circuit challenge

In the yellow and green groups, the students got to spend time in the engineering makerspace with Doug Klein. They saw the 3d printers in action and got to design some pieces themselves. The laser cutter was another favorite! The students brought home a 3d printed cube they got to watch being printed. In robotics, they wrapped up the Trash Trek FLL challenge. There were some great successes, especially around using the medium motor to pick up objects and move them to another spot! This group of students really excelled in programming this week.

Intently watching the 3D printer create a cube.

In their Own Words…

  • Electro magnets help make motors
  • I like leaning about engnieens
  • What Parallel/series circuits are
  • I would [like to learn more] because my dad works with electricity somtimes and I can help him!
  • I liked when we put the pieces together and mad the propeller.
  • That some woodcutters use lasers to cut wood.
  • I like that I got to see many engineering tools
  • I would like to learn more about 3-D printing because it is interesting and useful for models in the medical field.
  • I liked learning how to work different machines.
  • I did not know you could use A sla printer to help people with problems with their bones and stuff.
Trash Trek Challenge

Conversation Starters…

Red/Blue Groups

  • What type of engineering might interest you?
  • How did you make a motor today? How did you know it was working?
  • How did you get the Ozobots to move? What did they look like?
  • What did you build with your robot today? What did you program it to do?
  • What was your favorite part about camp this week?
  • What do you want to learn more about?

Brown/Purple Groups

  • What kind of circuits are there?
  • How do you know a circuit is working?
  • How did you get your circuits to work?
  • Why are circuits useful? What do we use them for?
  • What did you build with your robot today? What did you program it to do?
    What was your favorite part about camp this week?
    What do you want to learn more about?

Yellow/Green Groups

  • What was your favorite machine today? How did it work? What did it make? How would it be useful in the future?
  • What did you design for the 3d printer?
  • How does a 3d printer work?
  • What challenges did you complete with your robot today? What sensors or motors did you use? What did you program it to do to complete the challenge?
  • What was your favorite part about camp this week?
  • What do you want to learn more about?

Photo of the Day…

Investigating Electromagnetism!

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