Martin Knecht Physical Science, Chemistry, and Engineering Dept. South Texas-Coastal Bend STEM Coalition Meeting September 30, 2011

Transcription

1 Martin Knecht Physical Science, Chemistry, and Engineering Dept. South Texas-Coastal Bend STEM Coalition Meeting September 30, 2011

2 What is Waterbotics? Underwater robotics curriculum Design, build, test, redesign underwater bots. Provides hands on experience for middle and high school age students Engineering design Use of technology Introduce science concepts Expose students to engineering careers Uses NTX and LEGO Mindstorms Easy but flexible construction Exposes students to computer programming concepts

3 Curriculum Source Curriculum developed by the Center for Innovation in Engineering & Science Education (CIESE). The National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) leads in the dissemination and training of the Waterbotics curriculum in Texas. Efforts funded through NSF grants.

4 Goals Increase interest and awareness in engineering careers. Expose students to creative design process. Introduce basic science concepts. Show that engineering is FUN and appeals to a wide variety of interests.

5 Participation Ideal for girls and boys years of age. Curriculum can be tailored for any background level. Flexible curriculum Week long camp After school program Integrated into existing science curriculum hours in total.

6 Summer 2011 Participants Rising high school sophomores Over half of students were female Recruited from STC s early college high school One week intensive summer camp

7 Materials and Setup Main equipment LEGO MINDSTORMS sets (5) NTX software (site licenses) 8' x 30" Inflatable Pool Model propellers Laptop Computers Setup 5 workstations (4 students per) Common gathering area Mobile computer lab Pool test area Waterbotics kit available thru LEGO Education for around $3400 Approx. $200 in other materials

8 Training and Staffing Staffing Camp facilitator: Martin Knecht Recruitment and logistical support: Lupe Chavez 5 college student mentors Training Week-long training of facilitator at beginning of Spring 2011 semester. Camp setup and student mentor training week prior to the camp.

9 Missions Camp split into four missions of increasing complexity Each mission is built upon the previous mission Integrates the design cycle

10 Missions Each mission requires the students to... Design and construct the waterbot Design a controller Create a program

11 Mission 1 Straight Line Challenge Use a single motor to build a vehicle that can travel on the water surface as quickly as possible. Optimize gearing to achieve the best propeller speed.

12 Mission 2 Figure 8 Challenge Use a second motor to enable steering and twodimensional movement Maneuver on the surface of the water through a slalom course around two buoys in the shortest time.

13 Mission 3 - Vertical Challenge Use a third motor to control buoyancy in order to descend and rise vertically in water Maneuver through the same slalom course as in the previous challenge, except this time underwater Try to complete the course in the shortest possible time while avoiding touching either the surface or bottom.

14 Mission 4 Final Challenge Combine the products of previous challenges to produce a vehicle which can retrieve the greatest number of wiffle balls from the bottom of the pool within a specified period Balls must be deposited in various bins to score points Fourth motor may be used to come up with some way to grab and release the balls.

15 Educational Concepts Science Simple Machines Buoyancy Stability Forces Engineering Iterative design Interface design Gearing Technology Icon-based programming Flow diagrams Control structures(loops & Switches) Sensors & Motors Troubleshooting

16 Future Plans Offer multiple week-long camps during the summer. Potential as after school program. Open to students Valley wide. Seek out funding opportunities to support expansion. Offer training to local schools to allow teachers to implement curriculum.

17 Martin Knecht (956) Dr. Enriqueta Cortez (956)