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Bridges to build and DNA to observe!

It was another exciting day in the life of a STEM and robotics camper! The sea of green and blue shirts were an awesome sight and generated some great buzz amongst the faculty and staff on campus! The students are doing a great job using their manners and were great listeners today.

Vex Robotics

The groups finished building the Clawbots today and dove into learning to code on RobotC. Some have had a little bit of experience on RobotC, but most have not. RobotC is different than most of the students’ prior computer programming experience, so it takes a little bit to get the hang of it. They will dive deeper into the coding tomorrow and dig into some great challenges! Overall, they have really enjoyed getting to learn about a different robot and one that requires more building and understanding of moving parts than compared to the EV3 or NXT robots.


Red/Blue Groups

They spent half of their day with Dr. Testa extracting DNA from a strawberry! They were very careful scientists with their tools and were amazed at what the DNA looked like! They also explored different types of DNA and how scientists use DNA to look at what living things are made of.

Yellow/Green Groups

It was bridge building day with Dr. Thomas! For a creative warm up, the students had to build the tallest free-standing structure they could, with very limited supplies. Then they moved on to bridge building, where they talked about supply and demand and material costs. After weighing through all their options, they had to build the sturdiest bridge with the cheapest cost. We had some amazing, creative, and sturdy bridges today!

Robotics for Elementary

All the technology was working today, so the camp staff were extra-thrilled! They got into some cool building challenges and really are getting the hang of programming their robot to do different things. There was lots of dancing, high-fives, and positive words and excitement throughout the day as their confidence increased with programming.

In their words…

  • I learned that you can get DNA out of things.
  • That everything that is on the world is made of the things on the periodic table.
  • The middle [of a bridge] is not the strongest part.
  • I learned to proberly (properly) + creadivly (creatively) bild (build) a bridge.
  • if the bridg(e) falls you can all ways fix it.
  • I learned about strcutures. and also learned to keep trying
  • that evrybody (everybody) has divrint (different) DNa’s.
  • that you can all ways fix it.
  • How to desighsin (design) different things.
  • Yes [I would like to learn more], because I want to see other fruit and people’s DNA.

Conversation Starters…

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 want your robot to do today? How did you get your robot to do what you wanted it to do?

Red/Blue Groups

  • What is DNA?
  • What things have DNA?
  • How did you extract DNA from the strawberry?
  • What did it look like?
  • What did you want your robot to do today? How did you get your robot to do what you wanted it to do?

Vex Robotics

  • How different was it to build the Clawbot compared to the EV3 (or other robot they’ve built)? What kind of tools did you have to use?
  • How are you feeling about programming in RobotC? What makes it different from other computer programming you’ve done?
  • What did you want your robot to do today? How did you get your robot to do what you wanted it to do?

Picture of the Day…

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Day 1 of Week 1 is in the books!

Wow! What a great first day everyone had! We are very excited to welcome 90 elementary campers and 62 Vex robotics campers this year! They’re quite the eager group and we’re thrilled to have them on UK’s campus! Thanks so much for everyone’s assistance and patience this morning as we got all 152 campers check in. It went as smooth as it could have and awesome!

Just a note about the consent and assent forms that we ask for every year. Our camp is subsidized by an NSF grant that requires research and reporting to the agency.  The purpose of the research is to develop a camp model that promotes STEM careers to students and can be replicated. We also look at students attitudes towards STEM and the impact of our activities. Without this grant and consent and assent to participate the camp simply would not exist. We never report any names or any individual data…it’s always aggregated together! You can read about some of our work here.

We will post a blog post each night this week with some highlights from the day and some conversation starters. The conversation starters are meant to help you get over the “What did you learn today?” “Nothin’” or <shrugging the shoulders> we often see with our school-age students. We’ll also post a link to the photos we are taking throughout the week. If at any time you want a photo removed that is of your child, please let us know and we’ll be happy to take it down.

Please make sure and check twitter throughout the day this week – https://twitter.com/SeeBlueSTEMCamp – we’ll post more pictures and updates throughout the day the rest of the week.

Vex Robotics

Today was all about building and becoming familiar with the Vex system. The groups worked on building their chassis for the clawbot. Some groups also started trying some basic programming to get their clawbot to move. All the groups will be into the programming tomorrow, so expect more stories about how they’re getting their robots to move!

Red/Blue Elementary Groups

It was a robot day today for these groups! They spent half of their day with Dr. Walcott and Dr. Thomas building scribble bots from scratch. They learned about how motors worked, how electricity flows though the battery, and the importance of a cam on a motor. They had a lot of fun trying the bots out and even personalizing them a bit 🙂 The blue groups got put in their bags, so some didn’t make it home quite in one piece, but the students know how they are to be put together, so you can help with them that endeavor.

Yellow/Green Elementary Groups

They spent half of their day with Dr. Testa extracting DNA from a strawberry! They were very careful scientists with their tools and were amazed at what the DNA looked like! They also explored different types of DNA.

Robotics for Elementary Groups

In robotics, they are using the We Do 2.0 robots from Lego Education. UK switched over to a new wireless network last month and some of the Chromebooks had some issues, but we are happy to report that they’re all resolved and we’ll be back on track with devices tomorrow! The students were awesome with sharing devices and still getting their building in. Many of the students were able to program their robots and try out some of the basic different programs. Lots more fun challenges coming tomorrow!

In their words…

Each day we’ll post some excerpts from the students’ reflections of what they learned each day at the STEM Content session. We don’t correct for spelling or grammar in these 🙂

  • That fruit has DNA
  • That I could see DNA if I do a few things
  • How to build a really cool robot that I have never built before
  • I liked it because theres a lout of creativity
  • I love chemistry
  • I want to learn more so I could see more DNAs

Conversation Starters… 

We know your child is getting to the age where it might be like pulling teeth to get them to talk about their day beyond “It was fine.” “It was fun.” “I didn’t do anything.” So, each day we’ll post some suggested conversation starters centered on camp activities or STEM-related themes.

Blue/Red Groups

  • Tell me about how you assembled your scribble bot. What tools did you have to use carefully? How did you know how to connect things? What did your scribble bot do when you connected the motor to the battery?
  • Tell me about how you assembled your We Do robot? What is your robot’s name? What did you get your robot to do today?

Yellow/Green Groups

  • What is DNA? What things have DNA? How did you extract DNA from the strawberry? What did it look like?
  • Tell me about how you assembled your We Do robot? What is your robot’s name? What did you get your robot to do today?

Vex Robotics

  • What is a chassis? How did you get it built?
  • If they programmed today, what did they get their Clawbot to do?

Photo of the Day…

Each day we’ll post a camp highlight.  Click the picture and it will take you to the weekly photo album. Please note that we try to capture pictures of all the campers, but we cannot guarantee that we will get every single one. We try our very best to though! Also we are STEM teachers and not full time photographers, so our pictures are not perfect and we leave them unedited, so if you love to edit photos…feel free! If there is a photo you wish to have removed, please email me and we’ll take it down!

 

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Last day extravaganza!

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…

Red/Blue Groups
  • “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”
  • “I learned what chemists did, how nylon was made, and how to make a solar panel.”
  • “You can make a solar panel out of a blackberry!”
  • “I learned the chimist are more inportant than I thought.”

Yellow/Green Groups

  • “Paperclips are a really strong building material.”
  • “I learnd that quality is not all about how it looks”
  • “how diffrent stuctures effect the strength of towers and bridges”
  • “I liked when we got to test our bridge”
  • “We got to build bridges”
  • “How to make sure a bridge works”
  • “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…

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Creativity and Motors!

Another great day at STEM Camp came to a rainy and stormy end. The kids really settled into the routines well and were excited about the different sessions today.

Red/Blue Groups

The students got to be with Dr. Jennifer Eli, an alumnus of our program and current Associate Professor at University of Arizona, today! She loves to talk to the students about mathematical modeling and what tools we can use to model mathematics and other things. Today they specifically talked about polyhedra and made one of their own using a 3D Pen. Then they get to get creative and build and create their own items…this group this week is very creative! We loved seeing their personalities come out in their creations and then watching them wear them around proudly the rest of the day. In robotics they dove deep into the program, working the See Blue Football challenge. There were lots of celebrations and hard thinking.

Yellow/Green Groups

Today the students split their time between Dr. Bruce Walcott and his graduate students. In Dr. Walcott’s session, students were immersed in the wonderful world of engineering…using their hands to build and explore just as engineers do. The students got to build simple motors and talk about what electrical engineers do. The motors were definitely a favorite!They also tested out their design engineering skills by building a boat out of aluminum foil and seeing how many pennies it held. The students also got to tour the College of Engineering facilities, including a stop in the anechoic chamber, and ending with an up close and personal look at the solar car and how the college students designed and made it! The students had fantastic questions they asked today. In robotics they dove deep into the program, working the See Blue Football challenge. There were lots of trials, re-programming, and finally some celebrations 🙂

In their words…

Red/Blue Groups:
  • “I really like the fact that we got to get a lot of hands on experience with 3D printing.”
  • “I learned that 3D drawing is hard, I didn’t think it would be hard, but I was wrong.”
  •  “I like how we got to be creative and how we made shapes”
  • “Plastic can go from solid to liquid to solid again very fast.”
  • “3D pens are fun to work with if you’re careful.”
  • “I learned more about geometric shapes”
  • “I did not know how useful a 3-D pen could be so helpful”

Yellow/Green Groups

  • “I would becasue with 3d-printing you can help alot of people.”
  • “I would becasue with 3d-printing you can help alot of people.”
  • “That solar cars can get up to 90mph and weigh less than 1000 lbs. Also, canoes can be made out of concrete.”
  • “Solar powers cars are clean and efficient. People race these and concrete canoes.”
  • “It taught me how to make soemthing I use every day”
  • “I liekd how we learned how to make a motor with househeld items because it show that you could do this easily at home.”
  • “I learnt how to remove enamel from copper wire.”
  • “Whenever you put a magnet near the copper(on the north) it starts to spin)”
  • “I liked constructing the motor.”
  • ”We learned through trial and error and got to conduct experiments”
  • “I liked using materials/hands on! The solar car was awesome!”

 

Conversation Starters…
Red/Blue Groups:
  • What can you use 3d pens for?
  • Why is it important to build models of things?
  • How did you build your polyhedra?
  • What challenges did you have in programming your robot today? How did you overcome them?
  • What successes did you have with your robot today?

Yellow/Green Groups:

  • Is there a particular field of engineering that you think might interest you?
  • How many pennies did your boat hold? If you could build it again, what would you do differently?
  • What did the inside of the solar car look like?
  • How did you build a motor?
  • What challenges did you have in programming your robot today? How did you overcome them?
  • What successes did you have with your robot today?

Photo of the Day… Click the photo to access all the camp pictures.

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Day 1 Week 2 is off to a steamy start!

 

It was another great day 1 at the See Blue STEM Camp! It was a little steamy outside, but we are thankful the rain went north of campus and kept us dry as we walked to the different activities. We are very excited to welcome 228 campers this year! One hundred twenty-four of them started today! Registration went very well this morning and we really appreciate everyone’s patience as we got everyone checked in. You all are awesome!

Just a note about the consent and assent forms that we ask for every year. Our camp is subsidized by an NSF grant that requires research and reporting to the agency.  The purpose of the research is to develop a camp model that promotes STEM careers to adolescents and can be replicated. We also look at students attitudes towards STEM and the impact of our activities. Without this grant and consent and assent to participate the camp simply would not exist. We never report any names or any individual data…it’s always aggregated together! You can read about some of our work here.

We will post a blog post each night this week with some highlights from the day and some conversation starters. The conversation starters are meant to help you get over the “What did you learn today?” “Nothin’” or <shrugging the shoulders> we often see at the adolescent age. We’ll also post a link to the photos we are taking throughout the week. If at any time you want a photo removed that is of your child, please let us know and we’ll be happy to take it down.

Red/Blue Groups

Today the students split their time between Dr. Bruce Walcott and his graduate students today. In Dr. Walcott’s session, students were immersed in the wonderful world of engineering…using their hands to build and explore just as engineers do. The students got to build simple motors and talk about what electrical engineers do. They also tested out their design engineering skills by building a boat out of aluminum foil and seeing how many pennies it held. There was time left for them to explore a different type of robot, the Ozobot. They had a lot of fun exploring the Ozobots and why they worked! The students also got to tour the College of Engineering facilities, including a stop in the anechoic chamber, and ending with an up close and personal look at the solar car and how the college students designed and made it! The students had fantastic questions they asked today.

Green/Yellow Groups

The green and yellow groups got to spend time in our beautiful new science building – the Don and Cathy Jacobs Science Building. They were in one of the labs and got to explore solar energy and how much electricity can be generated. The students got to collect data and make observations about the different panels in different types of light.

All four groups…

In robotics, students started by engineering their robots. They got to build their robot and get to know it. They then start on some basic challenges of getting to move their robots…on a UK football field this year! They had to move their footballs forwards and backwards.

In their words…

Each day we’ll post some excerpts from the students’ reflections of what they learned each day at the STEM Content session. We don’t correct for spelling or grammar in these 🙂 

  • “I learned that STEM can be used for a lot of real world problems”
  • Would like to learn more about this topic (Dr. Graham) “…because t is a way to produce more energy + that is useful.”
  • “I like that we learned about a type of clean energy which we will need more of in the future”
  • “Diffrient boyencys can hold diffrent weights on water.”
  • “I learned the calculas method and the Engineering Design method”
  • “I would (like to learn more about this) becasue for all my life I ahve been interested in aircraft and I want to be a Aeronautical Engineer.”

Conversation Starters… 

We know your child is getting to the age where it might be like pulling teeth to get them to talk about their day beyond “It was fine.” “It was fun.” “I didn’t do anything.” So, each day we’ll post some suggested conversation starters centered on camp activities or STEM-related themes.

Red/Blue Groups:

  • Tell me about how you assembled your robot. Did you follow instructions? Did you just try to figure out what parts went together?
  • Is there a particular field of engineering that you think might interest you?
  • How many pennies did your boat hold? If you could build it again, what would you do differently?
  • How did the Ozobots work?
  • What did the inside of the solar car look like?

Yellow/Green Groups:

  • Tell me about how you assembled your robot. Did you follow instructions? Did you just try to figure out what parts went together?
  • 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?

Photo of the Day…

Each day we’ll post a camp highlight.  Click the picture and it will take you to the weekly photo album. Please note that we try to capture pictures of all the campers, but we cannot guarantee that we will get every single one. We try our very best to though! Also we are STEM teachers and not full time photographers, so our pictures are not perfect and we leave them unedited, so if you love to edit photos…feel free!