kcarroll Lego Mindstorm, Robotics, STEM

Week 2: Building a Castor Bot

This week the kids built some Caster Bots.

The Castor Bot is a basic two-motor drive robot with sturdy construction that turns easily. Its a great starter bot that can be built off of for future NASA missions. This build is for an NXT brick, but still a good way to get familiar with LEGO parts.

Below is a poster featuring the different pieces needed for each section.  Students were split into 2 teams to see who could build their bot the fastest.

Thorn: For the Lunenburg group I gave the kids instructions (that were unfortunately in Black and white) and had them hunt through the LEGO box for pieces. That proved to be quite a challenge to finish in our 1 hour time frame.

Rose: The next day ran much smoother. At Miller’s Run I had each step separated out with parts and color instructions. The kids did awesome and were able to build their bots easily.

Bud: For future sessions I plan on having a setup somewhere in between these two strategies. I will definitely use color instructions and have the pieces organized, but the kids can probably find and count them out themselves.

Stay tuned sports fans,

-Katie

kcarroll Lego Mindstorm, Robotics, STEM

Week 1: Intro to Robots and Program Overview

Robots Rule! KEAP Session 3 begins THIS WEEK after months of planning. Here at UVM Extension, excitement levels are high.

This week at Lunenberg, Gilman, and Millers Run we’ll be going over the course outline and watched some videos to get pumped for robotics.

Check out these cool creations:

Course Overview:

NASA is in the market for a new rover to explore the recently discovered planet EV3eden.  Our students have been tasked with designing and building a robot that is capable of following a set of commands to explore the planet’s surface. Over the next 7 weeks we must learn how to build and program here on Earth before the robot can be deployed.

Stay curious and help out NASA,

Katie (4-H Program Assistant)