Summer 2014 | Mililani High School FIRST Robotics

Igniting Inspiration Summer 2014

This camp marks our second Igniting Inspiration STEM camp. Two camps were offered to students entering grades 4 through 6. The first, Alternate Energy, focused on using wind as a source of energy. Students learned about wind turbines and wired a miniature house with lights powered by a battery, turbine, and solar panel. The second, Robotics, involved designing a LEGO NXT Mindstorm robot and programming it to complete certain missions using sensors.

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Curriculum

Alternate Energy (click to expand)

Sail Cars

Students learned that energy can take many forms, and design different sails to understand both the transfer of energy and its efficiency. They also learned how to calculate the speed of a moving car using the formula speed = distance/time .

Wind Energy

Students then used propellers and a motor to generate electricity, and learned how to measure their voltage output with a multimeter.

Squishy Circuits

Using conductive dough, LEDs, and a battery, students were able to construct circuits and learn about how chemical energy in a battery becomes electrical energy. They were also taught how parallel and series circuits work.

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House Project

After learning about how our modern society uses energy, students created their own model homes out of foam and applied their knowledge of circuitry, using several LEDs and a battery pack. Other sources of energy were then introduced, and students powered their homes using a small solar cell as well as their own mini wind turbine.