On Thursday, August 28 we spread awareness of our program at our school’s annual club fair. We handed out informational flyers and recruited prospective members as we demonstrated our 2014 FRC robot on stage and showcased our 2013 “Sack a Rice” FTC robot.
Starting on July 15, we held the 2014 Igniting Inspiration Summer STEM Camp for approximately thirty upcoming 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. The event ran for 5 days from 8:00 to 12:30, and students chose to participate in either a robotics or alternative energy STEM camp.
The robotics camp offered students an introduction to programming as well as robot design using Lego FLL NXT Mind-storm kits to accomplish the objectives in the Food Factor Mission. Food Factor was the 2011 competition for the First Lego League, a robotics competition which is open to elementary and middle school students.
A group of students in the robotics camp test their robot design through one of the food factor missions.
In addition to the robotics camp, we offered an introductory course on Alternative Energy. These students learned about the various forms of energy, and learned about how we are able to harness various energy sources so that we have power to use in our homes. They learned basic circuitry as they incorporated LEDs into model homes they constructed out of foam, and used solar cells and mini wind turbines as an alternative source of energy.
A student in the alternative energy camp tests the LED on a rocker switch using a 3 volt battery pack.
Click here for more information on this Igniting Inspiration camp. .