Author Topic: Ideas needed - JR Maker's club  (Read 7760 times)

Offline Brass_Machine

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Ideas needed - JR Maker's club
« on: May 19, 2016, 12:22:00 AM »
My son is currently in a 1st Lego Robotics club at his school. When he changes school next year we are in a quandary.  We can do the 1st Lego League again or try something different. While the Lego thing is interesting, it is very regimented and not much is actually made until he gets older. So, the missus and I have discussed starting a JR Maker's club which will allow us to be more free form in the stuff the kids get to make and do.

We believe meeting twice a month would work, but we need to come up with some ideas for the kids to make/do. The projects should be able to be done in 1 or 2 sessions and have some sort of educational value. While we have come up with some ideas, we really need more.

Some of the ideas we have come up with:

1. Balloon rocket races.



This can be converted into doing balloon car races as well.

2. oobleck experiments



There dozens of slime related experiments that can be done.

3. Baking soda rockets



4. Lego build days.
 - Lego car races
 - Any type of builds using Lego motors

5. simple balsa plane builds.

Stuff like that.

What I am looking for is ideas along these lines. Something 3rd graders can do, have fun and maybe learn something from.

Anyone have ideas?

Eric
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Offline shipto

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Re: Ideas needed - JR Maker's club
« Reply #1 on: May 19, 2016, 02:24:24 AM »
big pile of cardboard boxes and glue and/or tape and let their imaginations fly.
might be a bit dangerous but peg guns, maybe could be made safer.
if you have the room and a not too steep hill soapbox racers.
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Offline joshagrady

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Re: Ideas needed - JR Maker's club
« Reply #2 on: May 19, 2016, 04:28:20 AM »
+1 on the cardboard boxes.

You didn't mention the age of your target group, but I'm assuming early elementary age.

My daughter (almost 8 years old) just got started playing around with an Arduino for her school's science fair project.  Obviously, there was a healthy dose of coaching on my part (but since you're talking about dedicating 2 days a month to the project, that shouldn't be a stumbling point for you) regarding selection of resistors, etc., but the programming was something she was able to work out on her own.  We used Scratch (the visual programming language) and the Scratch 4 Arduino firmware.  The S4A workshop is a great place to start if you do not have prior experience with the platform.

I started the process by explaining what a program is (i.e. a series of well defined, discrete steps that lead to the desired goal), and, placing a ball on the floor in the middle of the room, instructed her to pick it up by going through a program (e.g. walk three steps; take one step to the left; walk three steps; bend; extend arm; grasp ball).  This was sufficient to get her started.  YMMV.

I'm working up an introductory program for the teachers at my daughter's school, as they would like to start using Arduinos in the classroom next year.  As I develop the program, I'd be happy to post the results.

One caveat.  I had purchased an introductory Arduino kit from Banggood.  This kit comes with breadboard, leads, servo, stepper, LED matrix, buttons, LEDs, a mix of resistors, etc.  Why the kit is a bargain for what it contains, I would recommend splurging on a higher quality breadboard and leads.  Far and away the most frustrating part of the entire process for my daughter was fighting to insert low quality leads into the holes on a poorer than low quality breadboard.  (Also, the resistors that came with the kit were the relatively arcane 5 band type, rather than the easier to decipher 4 band sort.)  Since a high quality breadboard and a bundle of good leads of varying lengths will set you back about 10 bucks, there really doesn't seem to be much advantage in burning the kids out on a struggle with imported garbage.

Good luck on what sounds like a very rewarding process.

--Josh   

Offline Manxmodder

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Re: Ideas needed - JR Maker's club
« Reply #3 on: May 19, 2016, 08:10:13 AM »
Eric, great project you have there. What about including one of the simple stirling engine designs.

There are a good number of these engine designs that use readily available materials like tin cans and examination gloves for the displacer and power piston available online.

There's also a few small books in print covering the same thing.

Another good source of project ideas suitable for young enquiring minds is the 'Instructables' website.

Link to Instructables: http://www.instructables.com/

OZ.
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Offline Sackett

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Re: Ideas needed - JR Maker's club
« Reply #4 on: May 19, 2016, 12:52:25 PM »
Not sure what age group you're involved with , but both my girls did mousetrap powered cars in school. Awards for both speed n distance , fun projects. They also did balsa wood projects with a given weight limit on materials, n strength testing. Some of those structures were amazing.

Offline Swarfing

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Re: Ideas needed - JR Maker's club
« Reply #5 on: May 19, 2016, 02:42:06 PM »
Rubber powered cars, boats and planes so they can have races at the end of the session....Lots of lolly pop stick affairs
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Offline PeterE

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Re: Ideas needed - JR Maker's club
« Reply #6 on: May 19, 2016, 03:19:51 PM »
A simple windmill that can power all sorts of smallish "tools" like pumps, cranes, merry-go-rounds, etc.

That also invites to work with the "mechanical alphabet" in terms of movements and transmissions.

Lollipop sticks, ice cream sticks, cardboard and glue.

/Peter
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Offline DMIOM

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Re: Ideas needed - JR Maker's club
« Reply #7 on: May 19, 2016, 04:01:07 PM »
....... They also did balsa wood projects with a given weight limit .....

Just hope you don't encounter the teacher I had at one time - balsa wood boat, but no glue allowed : in several cases the number of carpet tacks or panel pins used gave rise to negative buoyancy!

Dave

Offline raynerd

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Re: Ideas needed - JR Maker's club
« Reply #8 on: May 19, 2016, 04:01:28 PM »
Eric, I teach science and over the last 10 years I`ve had the opportunity to take a number of students on various STEM projects, courses and activities. I appreciate I`ll be talking about 11-18 so older but I can`t imagine anything below to be not relevant.

The BEST by far, was 1 garden leaf blower, £20 won off ebay, £20 for a heafty 4" (maybe 6") thick sheet of dense insulation, proper KingSpan here in the UK. I accept that was an expense, but split between the cost of students for the session. They used the equipment, along with black bin liners, tape and a few other bits to make a hovercraft. It was AMAZING, it carried the kids but even carried me across the sports hall, many meters! I didn't run this session, I just attended it but it was truly brilliant.


Quite a few electronics projects, making small amplifiers to make a radio with a speaker, putting together fruit clocks.

We made bare bones "arduino" from scratch using http://start.shrimping.it/        These are very good and get over the cost of a full arduino.

WE built a raspberry Pi weather station. Me on the school roof: 


Raspberry Pi minecraft server - I didn`t like this as I hate minecraft but the kids loved it and this was with Y7 (11 year olds)

Making a homemade incubator - parents will love them taking the chicks home...not! I hatched quails in ours and to be honest, some parents really liked having the chicks but this was agreed prior to incubation:


Using thermochromic paints. Here is an example of a pen but you can make some practical cups (showing when something is hot)


Cheers
Chris

 

Offline Brass_Machine

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Re: Ideas needed - JR Maker's club
« Reply #9 on: May 19, 2016, 05:18:13 PM »
Hey guys,

Thanks for the ideas so far. I like them and keep them coming!

So it is 3rd grade and only 3rd grade... so 8 to 9 years of age. Most of these kids are pretty bright though.

Eric
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Offline NormanV

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Re: Ideas needed - JR Maker's club
« Reply #10 on: May 19, 2016, 05:53:27 PM »
A team work project. Give each team an identical pile of materials and set them a task.
The best one I ever set was to challenge them to sort a pile of different sized balls (marbles, table tennis balls and tennis balls) It is amazing to see the different solutions that they will come up with.

Offline raynerd

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Re: Ideas needed - JR Maker's club
« Reply #11 on: May 20, 2016, 03:04:51 AM »
Card straws/art straws - these things: they are cheap.
Sticky tape
Scissors

Each have an imaginary cost! 10p a straw, 20p a 10cm length of tape = team budget £1

Task: Make the tallest tower which can hold a pair of scissors. The height will be measured from the bench to the position of the scissors. It must be free standing and not held down.

You`ll get some great designs:





Offline Joules

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Re: Ideas needed - JR Maker's club
« Reply #12 on: May 20, 2016, 03:15:36 AM »
Balloon hovercraft.   Egg races, transport a raw egg on built contraption without breaking.  Large foam gliders/deltas are challenging and splat-taculare.  Trebuchet
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Re: Ideas needed - JR Maker's club
« Reply #13 on: May 20, 2016, 06:21:31 AM »
 Bottle  rockets  :)


Rob

Offline Joules

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Re: Ideas needed - JR Maker's club
« Reply #14 on: May 20, 2016, 06:31:04 AM »
Bottle rocket dragsters....    :D

Rubber band powered vehicles, classes for speed or endurance.
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Offline joshagrady

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Re: Ideas needed - JR Maker's club
« Reply #15 on: May 20, 2016, 09:03:58 AM »
We made bare bones "arduino" from scratch using http://start.shrimping.it/        These are very good and get over the cost of a full arduino.

Chris,
Back in the day I used to program Atmel MCUs directly in order to avoid paying the full Arduino price.  In fact, I was doing so until a couple of weeks ago, when somebody pointed out to me that the price of an Arduino clone is now less than £3.

I love the building on a budget idea -- a great introduction to real world civil engineering.  A craft stick bridge building contest is also great fun.

Offline shipto

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Re: Ideas needed - JR Maker's club
« Reply #16 on: May 20, 2016, 03:31:18 PM »
on a similar note to the wooden straws coffee stirrers are really cheap in fact if you tell local supplier what they are for they might even donate a few thousand.
Turns out this life c**p is just one big distraction from death but a good one. For the love of god dont give yourself time to think.
https://myshedblog.wordpress.com/