TECHSPLORATION® 1

Boosting Academic Achievement Through Technology

READY! SET! GO!


Get ready for “LEGO Building 101”! Discover the basic LEGO building skills that are the backbone to your knowledge in technology. Focus on Dacta pieces in order to build a reasonably tough structure. How do we add axles, gears and a motor into the system? Welcome!

NEED FOR SPEED

Investigate our first mobile structure and try to build a simple LEGO motor car. Revise basic concepts with more complicated guidelines. Construct a model car and make modifications to the structure. Try different ways of linking motor-to-wheel using contraptions such as crown gears and belts. No menus? Oh no!

TOWERING STRUCTURE

Get psyched with the 101 of K’NEX building! Discover how to manipulate K’NEX to our heart’s desire. The spotlight’s on different connections and the slight bendability of the pieces. How do you make use of ropes and weights? Is your tower big, tall and tough?

GET MOTIONAL

Hone your building skills to construct a hand cranking device using K’NEX pieces. Delve into our first mini project with a delicate device. How can you swing that tennis ball all the way to the other side of the room? Where are the gears?

IT’S AUTOMATIC

Bring our LEGO-based device to life with at least two motors. Discover how to send the program from the computer to the RCX with basic programming. Tell your robot helper to do all your bidding. Fly, my beauties, fly!

ELEVATOR (WITHOUT) MUSIC

Concrete block? Why, yes! Explore the power of gear ratios. Assemble a motorized mechanism that will safely move a heavy object up, down and around. Your goal is to relocate Mr. Horace’s pet concrete block all the way up to the table with your LEGO-K’NEX hybrid machine. Careful not to drop it! Don’t be mean!

HAPPY LANDING

Now is the time to exhibit your skills! Gear up your motor car and let it fly like Evel Knievel. Will it experience impending doom or will it survive to see another day? You’ll need speed, power and sturdiness. It’s all about the hang time.

A DIFFERENT BALL GAME

It’s Monday Night Football – with robots. Build your robot athlete and enter the playing field. Punt, roll and run with the ball. Are you ready to tackle or be tackled? Let’s hear the crowd roar while you kick your field goal. Just make sure you don’t fumble!

OREGON TRAIL

Rollin’, Rollin’, Rollin’…Rawhide! Send your robotic settler to the Year 1845. Follow a dusty trail with your light sensor and travel through those treacherous terrains. Carry your heavy load to cross rivers, climb mountains and skim through sand. Have a nice trip!

CROSSROADS

Why did the robot cross the road? Create your own super intersection with your four-lane highway. Coordinate lights to avoid traffic fright. Can your robot safely go across or will he get stuck in the middle? Let’s get mechanical!

DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL!

Can you extend your body with robotic limbs; inorganic things that move with your every whim? Figure out how to teach the cyborg arm extension to press buttons, turn dials and pull handles. Can it juggle an egg? It’s remote controlled!

BE FLEXIBLE!

Can rubber bands really be used as a source of power? Build a wind-up car that can travel distances. Design and construct tension and torsion catapults. Use springs to power ballistae. Which object launching machine is the best hurler? Be elastically flexible!

LIGHT & MAGIC

Here comes the cricket! Investigate this programming language, a variant of Picoblocks. Become skilled at various techniques to control movements, sounds and light displays. Let’s design and create our own multimedia show. Can you build an interactive plush toy?

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Who’s there? Can machines really talk to each other? Teach a robot to communicate with infrared signals. Coordinate with each other to finish various goals. Can they work together or will everything fall apart? Oh, no!

DO IT LIKE INDIANA JONES

“X” marks the spot, or does it? Build your Indy Jones robot to run through mazes and dodge traps to find the ultimate treasure. Hurry before the time runs out. Did I forget to mention about the giant ball of doom? It’s time to get heroic!