First Grade Optical Engineers-Part 4

After building their lighting systems yesterday and realizing they didn't work, it was time to improve. We talked about their systems, what did happen, what didn't happen, & how they thought they could change it to make it work. Knowing what they know now, I challenged the students to start to design an improved lighting system. Below are some of the groups, working on creating their new system.

First Grade Optical Engineers-Part 2

Using Engineering is Elementary's unit called "Lighten Up: Designing Lighting Systems" has been fun for our 1st grade students. After hearing the story and experimenting with light & different materials, they were ready to get to the work. Using the engineering design process they started on the way to their goal of creating a lighting system. Their goal was to shine a flashlight in a hole at one end of a box and make light come out the other hole. Working as individuals and in small cooperative groups, they asked questions, imagined answers, and planned out one solution. The next step is for them to created & tested their plan, and figured out how to improve it.

Kindergarten Garten Stakes

In the past, our kindergarten made their garden stakes out of cardboard. They drew pictures and put them in the garden next to what they planted. But those stakes didn't last long when the got wet. This year, we did the same project but incorporated the Lab.

In their homeroom, groups of 2 students drew pictures of the garden and their stake. Next, they planned out what their stake design would look like. Finally, they took that stake design and drew it on a 3x5 card.

Then things went to the Lab. I scanned the cards as a jpeg file, cropped them to size and exported them as a pdf. I took the pdfs and placed them on a templates of the stake, which I made in Inkscape. After a couple of prototypes, I got the laser cut going and in no time the kindergarteners stakes were done.

We brought the kindergarteners into the lab to take them through the whole process, from drawing to wooden stake. Below are pictures of the process. Thanks to the K-Makai class and their wonderful teachers Lauree Sakaida and Kristi Kai.

13 Original Colonies Puzzle for 2nd Grade

Our second graders are learning about the 13 original colonies. One of the teacher asked if I could make a puzzle. She wanted the kids could get an idea of the size and shape of each colony. She also wants them to see the difference between how they were then and what they are now...so I will also be making a full 50 state puzzle in the future.

Recess Follow-up

Since opening the Lab at selective recess periods (normally Tuesday-Friday) over the past 2 weeks, we have had a lot of young makers come through the door. To date, we have had 7 recess sessions and 72 students have signed in as they visited the Lab. Some are back for their 2nd or 3rd time but a lot are new. We have kept the sessions girls only and boys only and have had 3 girls sessions, 4 boys sessions. The numbers right now show 30 of the students were female. I will continue to have the kids sign in to keep a record of who is showing up and what they are working on.

Originally, the Lab was open to 3rd-6th grade students but there has been a lot of interest from 2nd grade. So this week, we changed the recess Lab sessions to:
   Tuesday, 4th-6th grade boys
   Wednesday, 2nd-3rd grade boys
   Thursday, 4th-6th grade girls
   Friday, 2nd-3rd grade girls

We are also open during part of the day for students to come in if their classroom teacher sends them to work on a project. This has accounted for about a quarter of our visitors.

Open Lab at Recess - Day #2

Today was 3rd through 6th grade girls day in the Lab at recess time. I had 16 young creators come in. Like the boys, the girls had a small group that was working on the mini helicopters for their 5th grade play. Different from the boys, were 9 girls that had individual projects that they wanted to create. One wanted to make a box for her bother, a few others had started playing with 123D Design on their iPads and wanted to 3D print something. The remainder wanted to make small presents for a friend.

I explained to them that this was not just a time to find something on Thingiverse and make it. This was a time for them to imagine, plan, and create. It didn't have to be "school" related, it just has to be planned out.

With the good turnout and interest we had, next week I am opening at recess Tuesday-Friday. The grade levels will be the same...3rd-6th. The first 2 days will be for the boys and the end of the week will go to the girls.

Open Lab at Recess-Day #1

This week, we are beginning to open the Lab at recess on two days. It's only 20 minutes but we want to see what the interest might be. I sent an email out to all 3rd-6th grade teachers letting them know that Tuesday would be for boys and Thursday would be for girls. Yes, we are open right now by gender as we want to see if that affects those who want to use the space.

Today we had 13 fourth & fifth grader boys come in. They had 2 projects they wanted to create: one is a rubber band powered helicopter and the other is a rubber band powered propeller driven car. They started with basic written plans. The groups then split up...some moved to the cardboard to create the prototypes, while the others went to the computer to search Thingiverse for a 3D propellor they could use.

The time moved quickly so we put the work they did today into boxes, stored the boxes under our tables, cleaned up and moved back to class. They will return next week to continue. It will be interesting to see how the turn out is on Thursday with the ladies.