arts/crafts
materials (feathers, pipe cleaners, construction paper, glue, scissors, recycled
bottles/cans/cups) for personalizing contraptions
paper/pencils
Getting
started
Decide what
you'd like your creation to do: move, count, spin, light up, etc. Think about
how you'll build it - sketch out your design if you like.
Build the object
with legos, sensors, motors, and craft items.
Use the Mindstorms
software to write a program to control your contraption: if you want to count
how many people come in a room, you'll have to hook up a sensor of some sort,
then program your device to add to its count every time the sensor "sees"
a person come in. Send
the program to your device, and set it up in place to count people.
Test your device,
then make any adjustments to the physical design and/or the program instructions
that are necessary.
Show off your
finished creation to your friends!
What next
Creation
and invention:
Make your creation
attractive as well as useful.
Write a webpage
or a chart illustrating the data you've collected. For example, if you counted
how many people came into a room, take readings over several hours or days,
and chart your findings.
Add more features
to your original design once it works.
Discussion:
What problems
did you encounter in building your design? How did you solve them?
What problems
did you have in programming your creation? What did you do?
What limitations
did the software or building tools have that you had to work around?
What could you
do to improve on the design of the legos or the software?
Field
trip possibilities:
Engineering
or computer science department at a local university
