It’s hard to believe the week is already over! The students were really sad, but we made sure they had a great time (and were worn out!) by the time they left us today. It’s truly been an exciting week of discovery, adventure, and curiosity. The students were awesome! They were inquisitive. They explored. They tinkered. They built. They programmed. They persevered through challenges and celebrated their successes. We loved seeing the transformations!
WKYT and the Herald Leader stopped by today for a visit. The students were so excited to show off their knowledge and show them how things are done in “STEM” 🙂
WKYT Videos – http://www.wkyt.com/content/news/Middle-school-students-code-robotics-and-study-DNA-at-UK-camp-428884543.html
Herald Leader Video – http://www.kentucky.com/news/local/education/article156562794.html/video-embed
Red/Blue Groups
They were in a chemistry lab with Dr. Kenneth Graham, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, and his graduate students in the Don and Cathy Jacobs Science Building today and got to test out different types of solar panels and even created their own solar panel! They tested them inside and outside to see how much energy was needed to power a LED light. In robotics, they wrapped up the Green City Challenge…there were lots of cheering going on as there were many, many successes today!
Green/Yellow Groups
They got to use mathematical modeling to build bridges with Dr. Jonathan Thomas, Associate Professor of Mathematics Education. They got to use a variety of materials to first build the tallest tower they could, and then they built a bridge. They had to keep track of costs though on the bridge building; the goal was to hold at least 8 pounds. There were some fabulous designs! The students used the design engineering process to design, build, test, tweak, test, etc. their products. In robotics, they wrapped up the Space Challenge…just like the other groups there were many successes and lots of high fives, big smiles and cheering going on!
In their words…
- “Black Berries can make a solar panel!”
- “Nylon is in tooth brush bristles.”
- (Do you want to know more about his topic? )”yes so I could possibly make my house solar powered.”
- “I liked making the solar cell”
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“I learned what chemists did, how nylon was made, and how to make a solar panel.”
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“You can make a solar panel out of a blackberry!”
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“I learned the chimist are more inportant than I thought.”
Yellow/Green Groups
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“Paperclips are a really strong building material.”
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“I learnd that quality is not all about how it looks”
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“how diffrent stuctures effect the strength of towers and bridges”
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“I liked when we got to test our bridge”
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“We got to build bridges”
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“How to make sure a bridge works”
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“how diffrent stuctures effect the strength of towers and bridges”
Conversation Starters…
Blue/Red Groups
- What is solar energy? What can it do for us?
- What did you measure today using your multimeter? What did you find out?
- Was there a difference in the panels you looked at today?
- How did you create your own solar panel? Could you create one for our home?
- What did you get your robot to do today? How did you do that?
- What do you want to be when you grow up? How do you think STEM will help you in your career?
Yellow/Green Groups
- What do bridges need to be strong?
- How did you decide what materials to use for your bridge?
- How did you decide on your design for your bridge?
- How did your bridge do when you tested it?
- How tall was your tower you built?
- What did you get your robot to do today? How did you do that?
- What do you want to be when you grow up? How do you think STEM will help you in your career?
Photo of the Day…