Volunteering as a teacher for a 'More STEM' Camp
For the past two weekends I got the opportunity to teach children from ages 7-16 about STEM related concepts. STEM is an abbreviation for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. While all these concepts are interconnected with one another, the emphasis was of course Engineering, given my background. For these kids who are entering and growing up in a world where new and emerging technologies are at the forefront of their lives, it is important to teach where all these technologies have had their beginnings and to empower children with knowledge (for example coding), so that their future careers and ideas of who they want to become, can be instilled at their young age.
Sorting out electronics and going over Arduino display at "More Stem"
For the first weekend, a group of volunteers and myself focused on teaching Arduino based programming. As mentioned in previous posts, an Arduino is a microprocessor which acts a "brain" that gives out commands. I was in charge of a group of three kids, and we went over several lessons, such as turning on an LED and making it blink, and using an ultrasonic sensor to measure distance, (the very same sensor I used for my Inspirebot). Most of the kids were receptive to learning about circuits and electronics, and it was fun to teach them how these parts worked.
For the second weekend, we focused on robotics. We used Lego Mindstorm kits. These kits include a programmable set of robots made out of Lego pieces. Combining something as simple to build as Lego with the power of programming, this can be enjoyable for kids and even adults to learn basic programming and electronics.
Lego Mindstorms Robot connected to the software
The main goal at the end of the second weekend was to have a ;sumo wrestling fight' with the robots. Sorta of like that TV show from along time ago. Robot Wars, but on a lesser scale, and no flamethrowers or other crazy death traps. The kids designed their own attachments to the robots such as a shovel, or claws with gears. Finally, each of the robots had to have a light sensor attached.
Robot wars ensuing!
The sumo match took place within a circle marked with black tape. The light sensors were programmed so that the motors would move the wheels backwards and away from from the tape. Thus the tape acted as a 'fence'. To win the match, one of the robots had to push the other robot outside the black tape. We showed the kids how the programming worked on the Lego Mindstorms software and some of them added their own commands into the robot. For example, increasing the speed of the motors when the sensor detects another robot in front of it. In the end, we were able to show kids the power of programming and robotics! Perhaps we will see future engineers or coders in these children.
