INSPIRE - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Camp Overview
Instructor Information
About me: Alex Milewski
I am a Movement Artist, Engineer and Educator based in Boulder. I started my obsession with Engineering at age 8 when I got my first Lego mindstorms set for Christmas. I never looked back, and ended up graduating CU Boulder with a degree in Mechanical Engineering 15 years later (2013). I founded a tech startup in Australia in 2012, and ran that for 5 years out of school. I am also a professional dancer (primarily Breakdancing) and have taught and performed around the world. In 2009, I discovered that my passion for Engineering and Legos was eclipsed by my Love for sharing wonder and excitement with kids through teaching. My Robotics classes are a direct manifestation of my Love for Engineering and teaching, and i'm so grateful for the opportunity to share my passions with students!
Contact info[1]
Class location: 3371 Hickok Pl. Boulder, 80301. **Please either park in the spot #8 (second from the end on the left) or in a "Visitor" spot: we cannot park in any other spot numbers without sad neighors.
Child safety and rules for everyone to be aware of
House Safety[2]
Safe touch & Body Autonomy [3]
Camp Information
Camp Description
Camp will consist of a “challenge” robotics project using Lego Mindstorms electrical and mechanical parts, and Scratch coding. Students will work together and independently on the project and culminate in a “demo day” on Friday afternoon. No prior experience required, but a passion for Lego recommended!
The Challenge
The challenge at this camp is a “search and rescue” robotics project. There has been a radioactive waste leak at a trash incinerator, and the surrounding area has been contaminated. It's up to you and your team of Engineers to create robots to seek out the survivors who are holed up in rescue pods and bring those pods outside of the contaminated zone. Students will need to follow the Project Specifications [4]to resuce as many pods as possible within the time limit.
Student Learning Outcomes & Objectives
Student Learning Objectives[5]
Camp Objectives[6]
Class expectations[7]
Engineering Design Process
Camp Outline/Schedule
Day 1 (6/7): Challenge overview and foundations
9am: Welcome and introductions!
Meet at Alex's house (3371 Hickok Pl, Boulder), parents please come in!
Brief tour of "the lab"
Icebreakers and movement games
9:30am: The lab!
Technical intro:
Lab overview
Basic Lego components and locations of parts
Engineering Design Process (EDP)
Free build/explore
10:30am: Getting our hands (and brains) going
Introduction to technic mechanisms (gear trains, treads, motor types, etc)
Pick-a-project simple mechanical build from book(s)
Introduciton to coding
//code game
Scratch overview
Noon: Lunch at Howard Heuston Park (just down the street)
1:30pm(ish): Project introduction
Search and Rescue challenge
Introduce ultrasonic sensors
Individual brainstorms
Present ideas to group
Delegate components & teams
Start building
3:00pm: Pickup at Alex house!
Day 2 (6/8): The Work day!!
9am: Park warm-up!
Meet at Howard Heuston Park for warm-up games (parents & siblings welcome to join!)
9:45am: Getting going!
Review components and teams
Review the "game plan"
What needs to be done?
Current roadblocks?
Continue working on bots: aim to get to a "testing" point by noon
Noon: Lunch at Howard Heuston Park
1:30pm(ish): Finish hardware!
What needs to be done to finish mechanisms and be ready to test/code tomorrow?
Finish building
Test
3:00pm: Pickup at Alex house!
Day 3 (6/9): Demo day!
9am: Park warm-up!
Meet at Howard Heuston Park for warm-up games (parents & siblings welcome to join!)
9:45am: Get coding!
Review components and teams
What needs to be done to finish hardware?
Current roadblocks?
Begin coding!
Aim to be ready for test run by noon!
Noon: Lunch at Howard Heuston Park
1:30pm(ish): Test run!
2:30pm: parents arrive for final challenge demo!
3:00pm: closing words and departure!
- May the Force be with you! -
Open Door Policy:
All inside doors are kept open during classes. My front door is always "open" as well, and all parents are encouraged to stop by (or stay) for class whenever they like!
Substances & guns:
There are no illegal substances of any sort in my home. Any legal & prescription substances are kept out of sight and not in "public" spaces. This is a gun-free home: there are no firearms or other dangerous weapons (beyond kitchen knives) here.
No secrets: I will never ask students to keep secrets from eachother or parents.
I will only initiate consensual, safe touch like high fives. If a student initiates a casual hug, I will reciprocate that... I also ask students to limit rough-housing and maintain their body autonomy with eachother in class, and will support students if they seem uncomfortable with physical play from peers (and communicate with parents if this happens).
All children have aright to physical autonomy and to feel comfortable. If they feel uncomfortable in their body, they are encouraged to honor that and I will always support them in that autnomy.
Contaminated zone will be elevated (top of a table)
Buffer zone is 3' radius around the table (no human can enter the buffer zone)
There will be 3 rescue pods, starting on the table
Rescue pods must be completely outside of buffer zone to be considered "saved"
TIme limit for rescue mission is 10 minutes
Knowledge and implementation of the Engineering Design Process
Basic understanding of how motors and gears work, including worm & rack gears
Introductory programming concepts (if statements, loops, etc)
Basic understanding of structural integrity and building sturdy machines
Using sensors, motors, coding and a microcontroller, to allow a machine to respond to stimuli in its environment
Working in a group to solve a problem
Having fun
Sparking curiosity
Teamwork
Learning basic problem solving skills and the Engineering Design Process
Understanding what makes a robot a robot, vs just an electrical machine
Understanding of building/prototyping machines with LEGO
Basic understanding of what programming is
Engage
Communicate
Work together
Be curious and open minded
Be respectful and kind to everyone