Robotic roaring at American Academy
Robotic creations included this chomping alligator by Abby Mays at American Academy during STEM week.
Article by Kathy Dunker; photo courtesy of American Academy
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) week at American Academy (AA) is filled with fun, hands-on information for young students. March 4 through 15 was the Lego WeDo construction session for AA second graders, allowing the kids to investigate the world of robotics.
Students created their Lego robotic using instructions similar to the kits you can purchase for home. The WeDo Legos use a motor and sensors to enhance the movements of its creations, in this case being animals. “The robotic creations plug into the computer using a USB plug-in and the students then program their robotic creation to do different things using the program blocks that I teach them about in the WeDo program,” said STEM instructor, Laurie Liddick.
Student creations at AA included lions, birds, and alligators. Lions were programmed to sit up and roar as well as lie down and sleep. Birds could flap their wings, and alligators were able to chomp and crunch.
To find out more about AA and its STEM curriculum, visit www.americanacademyk8.org.
