We Provide STEM Education for Kids!
Today was a free build day with the option of a challenge. Most students opted for the challenge. The children for their efforts in the previous class received a small reward that was supposed to be shared but was promptly fought over, this was expected.
I truly enjoyed seeing the children put the knowledge that they learned to use during this class and remarking on their growth during the past 8 weeks.
Thank you very much!
See you starside,
Il Ho Cho
The last class turned out to be extremely fun as the kids had the opportunity to use their imagination and build what they liked. It was also a test for them to see whether they could retain the concepts from the previous classes. I was happy to see them using mechanical engineering concepts coupled with electrical rotors to build a complex project. It was also easy to see their enthusiasm especially in the last class, but also throughout the term. Now that everyone has successfully graduated phase 1 I hope to see them in the next phase that begins in January.
In the last class the kids took the opportunity to work on a project they liked, using their imagination and the concepts they have learned throughout the term. Most of the kids liked the more complicated mechanical projects they had worked on, and so they all used a battery and a motor with their legos. Everyone has been performing amazingly in all of the classes and I was really happy to make sure they received their certificates at the end of the night. We will take a break for a couple of months and start the next phase in January. That phase will be more complicated, but I’m sure our students will be quite capable of finishing them and enjoy the challenge too.
In the last class the kids took the opportunity to work on a project they liked, using their imagination and the concepts they have learned throughout the term. Most of the kids liked the more complicated mechanical projects they had worked on, and so they all used a battery and a motor with their legos. Everyone has been performing amazingly in all of the classes and I was really happy to make sure they received their certificates at the end of the night. We will take a break for a couple of months and start the next phase in January. That phase will be more complicated, but I’m sure our students will be quite capable of finishing them and enjoy the challenge too.
The kids not only enjoyed this class but were all able to finish it in time, so in the end they had the time to play and experiment with their projects. This was a really fun class, and also educational regarding the concepts of engineering and also efficiency. Next week, in the last class the kids will have an open session to work on anything they like to build.
Today’s class went very successfully with all of the students completing the project. The students learned about pulley ratios as well as the block and tackle.
During the testing I proposed a challenge to the students that if they could lift a heavy block using their fishing hooks that they would get candy. The students enthusiastically took to figuring out unique solutions to this problem and came up with two solutions.
The younger students worked together to distribute the load over multiple hooks and lift it as a combined effort successfully lifting the load for a short period of time demonstrating excellent teamwork.
However Olivia impressed me the most. Using only pointers on where to improve and half a design she was able to complete a system that was able to lift the entire weight on it’s own.
As promised I will bring candy for the students next week.
As next week will be our final class it will be an free build class. This means that the students may build whatever they want.
The LDD Design with a personal computer is usually a difficult class for the kids to understand, but I was really happy to see them performing well. Some of the kids had also practiced at home before coming to class which was great. The LDD software allows them to make computer models of their projects which they can easily manipulate and test. Next week is the last class of the term, and the kids will be instructed to use their imagination to build what they like. They can work individually or in teams again, and in the end they will receive their certificates for passing this phase.
The kids really seemed to enjoy this project. They partnered up in groups of two and worked on a fishing rod, which had a string and was lifted with a handle. Aside from a fun exercise, it was also good practice in engineering a mechanical device. Some of the kids went even further and added a battery and a motor to the rod. Next week is the last class of the term, and the kids will be instructed to use their imagination to build what they like. They can work individually or in teams again, and in the end they will receive their certificates for passing this phase.
The theme of today is building a robot hand model, which is a more complex application of the pneumatic system. In this section, the pneumatic robot hand consists pneumatic components from cylinders and pumps to the air valve, the air tank, and the manometer. With the built model, the students got a deeper understanding of the design philosophy and working principles of the pneumatic system, which built a solid ground for the next following even more advanced pneumatic robot arm model. The STEM information behind this section is the application of pneumatic systems as well as the cylinder piston rod force output calculation, which can be calculated by multiplying the air pressure with the piston area. All the students finished the model and the experiments. And they conducted the objects grabbing with a lot of interests and fun.
The students built a Lego finishing rod and a fish, which is the fishing analogy game. Two students built the model cooperatively and then conducted the session to understand the basis of the pulley system. The section is more about having funs instead of the studying STEM theories. The only important one is the pulley system used in the fishing rod building process. After finishing both the finishing rob and a mimic fish, the students ran a fishing catch competition. All the students finished the model building part and had a big fun.
