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Week 2 Comes to a Close

It’s hard to believe we had to say goodbye to another set of campers this week! As one student stated when we were leaving – “Well it just feels like Monday to me! I can’t believe we’re already leaving!” There were some tears shed because it was the last day – extra hugs were given and we took it as a good sign that they had a great week together!

Working together to build their simple motor.

The red and blue groups got to spend the day with Dr. Bruce Walcott and his team exploring the different fields of engineering, building simple motors, and playing with Ozobots – a small robot that uses light sensors to read where to go. The students were surprised at the small amount materials and effort needed to make a motor! The purple and brown groups spent their day with Dr. Janet Lumpp and got to dive deep into circuits. They learned why circuits work, what it means to be open and closed, and got to build some of their own circuits. The small challenges were fun for the students and they loved the lights and noises when they successfully completed a circuit! In robotics, today was creative build day. And boy were the students creative! This group this week really embraced the idea of creativity. They had awesome stories to go along with their builds and were very excited to program it to do quite a variety of things. I hope they shared about it with you tonight!

Completing a circuit challenge

In the yellow and green groups, the students got to spend time in the engineering makerspace with Doug Klein. They saw the 3d printers in action and got to design some pieces themselves. The laser cutter was another favorite! The students brought home a 3d printed cube they got to watch being printed. In robotics, they wrapped up the Trash Trek FLL challenge. There were some great successes, especially around using the medium motor to pick up objects and move them to another spot! This group of students really excelled in programming this week.

Intently watching the 3D printer create a cube.

In their Own Words…

  • Electro magnets help make motors
  • I like leaning about engnieens
  • What Parallel/series circuits are
  • I would [like to learn more] because my dad works with electricity somtimes and I can help him!
  • I liked when we put the pieces together and mad the propeller.
  • That some woodcutters use lasers to cut wood.
  • I like that I got to see many engineering tools
  • I would like to learn more about 3-D printing because it is interesting and useful for models in the medical field.
  • I liked learning how to work different machines.
  • I did not know you could use A sla printer to help people with problems with their bones and stuff.
Trash Trek Challenge

Conversation Starters…

Red/Blue Groups

  • What type of engineering might interest you?
  • How did you make a motor today? How did you know it was working?
  • How did you get the Ozobots to move? What did they look like?
  • What did you build with your robot today? What did you program it to do?
  • What was your favorite part about camp this week?
  • What do you want to learn more about?

Brown/Purple Groups

  • What kind of circuits are there?
  • How do you know a circuit is working?
  • How did you get your circuits to work?
  • Why are circuits useful? What do we use them for?
  • What did you build with your robot today? What did you program it to do?
    What was your favorite part about camp this week?
    What do you want to learn more about?

Yellow/Green Groups

  • What was your favorite machine today? How did it work? What did it make? How would it be useful in the future?
  • What did you design for the 3d printer?
  • How does a 3d printer work?
  • What challenges did you complete with your robot today? What sensors or motors did you use? What did you program it to do to complete the challenge?
  • What was your favorite part about camp this week?
  • What do you want to learn more about?

Photo of the Day…

Investigating Electromagnetism!
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Halfway Through!

Another fantastic day with this group is in the books! We cannot get over how wonderful the weather has been. We’re usually battling nearly 100 degrees by now and so this has been a welcomed change for our groups this week. While they’re at camp, students get a small flavor of college life by walking to their different sessions. Some walks are longer than others, but they are enjoying being outside and getting some exercise in between sessions. We wish we had a playground for them during the day, but college campus’ just don’t have them 🙂

The red and blue groups today were with Dr. Jonathan Thomas where they did some physics. They learned about airplanes and the different forces that help them fly. They then created all different types of paper airplanes to test out the different types of forces and what affected them. They had a lot of fun testing out their different designs. In the purple and brown groups, they were with Doug Klein in the College of Engineering’s Makerspace lab. They got to see the 3D printers in action, the lasercutter, and other equipment available to the UK students to use to design their products and prototypes for their projects. They got to use some of the software that UK students use to help design the projects. Most came home with a 3-d printed cube. In robotics, they designed race cars and tested them out. We had different kinds of races – who could go the fastest. Who could go the slowest, but still move. Who could go in a straight line. There were some very creative race cars out there! They are really enjoying the robotics, especially the lego-building part. They are doing really well with the coding – it’s really amazing how fast kids pick it up and use it!

In the yellow and green groups, they had fun with Dr. Robin Cooper and his graduate students today. They conducted some small experiments about how the body uses its different senses and communicates them to the brain. They got to hold a brain and spinal cord (if they wanted) and other organs. The students were amazed at what they looked like and felt like! In robotics, they continued with their challenges. One of the favorites today was the C-A-T-S CATS CATS CATS Mat – The groups are really doing a great job!

In their own words…

  • Glider planes need to stay at a downward pich.
  • How to make a Ufo
  • I DiDn’t now Some planes Dont need enigines to fly
  • That you can 3D modle dnt lazer cuter
  • How machines printed on wood, metal, and plastic
  • I liked that we got to make 3D objects on the computer.
  • I didn’t know what Brains were like.
  • we have tail!!!!!!!
  • I learned about how the nerves and how they differ in the body.
  • Crayfish have an attack stance.
  • I didn’t know that crayfish use sensors And motor sense just like humans but Just with their tails
  • I would like to learn more about neurons, because one of my dream jobs is a neurologist.
  • I liked that we got to see crawfish, two human hearts, a human lung, and a human brain.

Conversation Starters…

Red/Blue Groups

  • What are the 4 forces of flight?
  • How does an airplane fly in the air?
  • What different materials did you use to build your airplane today? Did your designs work the way you thought they would? What was frustrating about building your airplane? What was fun about designing your airplane?
  • What kind of car did you build today? What kind of code did you use to make it go? Did your car move the way you wanted it to?

Purple/Brown Groups

  • What was your favorite machine today? How did it work?
  • What would you like to create with one of the machines?
  • What is a 3d printer? How did it work?
  • What kind of car did you build today? What kind of code did you use to make it go? Did your car move the way you wanted it to?

Yellow/Green Groups

  • How do our senses work with our nerves in our body?
  • Why do we study crayfish? Why is the tail so important?
  • Were you able to taste the cinnamon today?
  • Did you hold any of the organs? What did they look like? What did they feel like? Did you think they would look different than they did?
  • What did you get your robot to do today? What is challenging about coding with your robot?

Picture of the Day…