Beginnings

Our first robotics program in JEI Academy started out on Monday with

the kids building their first robots. They started out with a brief overview of what each piece of the robotics set was made out of. Afterwards, they chose which robot to build, and off they went – their first foray into robotics for many. After everyone’s robot was finished, all the kids were excited to get their robot to move. All of our great group leaders taught our students how to move the robot with the onboard motor control, then we got into programming. At first, the students struggled with understanding programming concepts, but gradually, they made their robot move around a box and move in a figure 8, a considerable improvement from the beginning of the first day, when they had no idea about what a robot even was!

Advancement

Even though the previous day was hard, all of the students came back the next day, and the next day, and the next day to continue their robotics adventure. We breezed ahead of schedule and went over sensors and worked on grabbing objects while sensing rooms or circles drawn on the floor. Through a mixture of building and programming projects, the students learned about best building practices and best programming practices. Our students were enjoying the class so much that we even began some unplanned enrichment, teaching the students how to follow lines, a fairly advanced topic. It’s really amazing that they had come so far in just three days of robotics, starting from a mostly blank slate to a state that was fairly advanced.

BattleBots!

Now that our students had been equipped with the skills that they needed to start building and programming by themselves, we started our big project, the BattleBot project. A buzz of activity emanated from the middle of the group, with the sounds of pieces snapping together, taps of the keyboard, and clicks of the mouse. As they began running tests of their robot, they started to cheer when their robot knocked another robot out of the round. Everyone had to be dragged back home, dizzy with anticipation of the next day.

Finally, competition day came. Everyone rushed to make some last-minute adjustments, and competition rounds began. As robot after robot was knocked out of the round, loud cheering was heard. After the competition, as an extra tidbit, the winners were given a 3D Printed trophy, followed by a quick lesson on 3D Printing. As we waved goodbye for the last time, I couldn’t help but think about how far our students have come in just five days of robotics. We wish all of them luck in the future with robotics!

Our robotics session in Ridgewood Public Library was a huge success. We were off to a great start on Tuesday, where over 20 kids came and enjoyed learning about robotics. All of us started by introducing ourselves, splitting up into 6 groups (who would later compete against each other), and learning what exactly a robot is (a robot senses, thinks, and acts). Next, each group proceeded to build our first robot. How amazing! By the time the session ended, the kids were playing with their first – and finished – robot.

Wednesday pushed their skills further by digging deep into programming. We had the kids’ robots move around a box, and later as enrichment, kids would attempt to program the robot to loop in a figure 8. The next day, we guided everyone on figure eights, and later, taught them about attachments. In the first week (just 3 days, or 6 hours), kids had already created their first robots that could perform a variety of missions, such as grabbing loops.
The next week made this really fun. Each of the EV3 sensors were introduced on Tuesday, completing our first robot. Kids had built and programmed robots to grab bottles and retrieve them. Wednesday started off with challenges to avoid walls and stay in a black ring, and the kids responded with flying colors.

Finally, came the final activity of our session: BattleBots. Each group built and programmed a robot that would battle the others. Throughout the end of Wednesday and the beginning of Thursday, the sound of anticipation and LEGO pieces were heard throughout the entire auditorium.

Competitions took place on the last day (Thursday) and they were definitely a blast! Fun filled the air as countless robots battled other groups. The winners got 3D printed trophies.

In the end, we had huge success: each kid was proud of what she or he had accomplished: they built a robot, programmed it, upgraded it, and eventually, had it battle.

Looking for workshop resources? They’re here: http://kids2kids.club/workshops/ridgewood-library-summer-2015/