Junkbots

For the last few months at lot of the outreach work from the Junkbots project was focused on the exercises based around turning cans into drawing bots or junk clearing bots. Yesterday (21st June 2012) the robot programming side of the project was trialled with primary schools. The Northamptonshire based Nene Lakes Extended Services ran "Chemistry at Work Day" event hosted by Scott Bader, Wollaston  and the robot programming was also included as well. The programming idea, an off-shoot of the junkbots project, was for the students to programming an NXT Lego robot to dance using only four commands that allowed the robot to: go forward for so many centimetres go back for so many centimetres go turn right for so many degrees go turn left for so many degrees The structure of the activity was up to 5 minutes introduction to the activity up to 10 minutes as a group of usually up seven; design a dance routine of no more than four moves up to 10 minutes putting the ro...

The results of a funding from HE STEM South West has enabled the junkbot project to go into primary schools and the material to be revised based on good practice in STEM public engagement in primary schools .  The funding looked at adopted the ideas and practice developed previously to produce STEM activities in this case targeted at Primary schools. Details of the work developed and a case study can be found at:  http://www.hestem-sw.org.uk/project?id=16&pp=540 Details of the case study can be found at:  http://projects.hestem-sw.org.uk/upload/Junkbot_june_northampton.pdf Details of an in-school session plan can be found at:  http://projects.hestem-sw.org.uk/upload/Planning_Process_junkbots_KS3_4_longer.docx Details of an STEM club session plan can be found at:  http://projects.hestem-sw.org.uk/upload/Planning_Process_junkbots_primary_short8.docx Junkbots on Prezi If you would like to know more about th...

On the 30th April 2012 the junkbots project went to Wootton Primary's STEM club. The task was challenging to design and to build junkbots that can draw in less than 45 minutes...and they did. Great work and some engineers/technologists for the future. Thank you to Mrs Meadows and all the children of the STEM club for inviting me. If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

Junkbots on Prezi If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

Here is a junkbot my 7-year old son and I came up with at the weekend. A bit of fun - a junkbot that draws based on a bashed up drinks can, pens, straws, motor, broken fan and lots of tape! The last picture has some of the shapes the junkbots produced. If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

Friday 16th March 2012, the junkbots project moved to year 6 at Roade Primary School.  The aim was to Look in to how to use electric motors to make junk move, along with the effect of weight, surface contact effects and positioning of the weights. The task was to make something that could move along a table as quickly as possible. Good example is the 'sleigh' shown above, a mixture of straws, yoghurt pots, pens, plastics and electric motors. What was especially good about this one was - it went in a straight line, shaking its way along and even carried its batteries. This was especially good as usually these junkbots have a tendency to spin around. The group that developed this one investigated repositioning the batteries, thereby adjusting the weight to get it to travel in a straight line. Thank you to the year 6 at Roade Primary School for inviting me, lots of budding engineers there. If you want to know more about Junkbots please contact:  scott.turner@northampto...

This week the junkbots idea were taken to South End Infant School, Rushden, Northamptonshire as part of their Science week....and it was good fun for me as well.  In three groups they played with: - The hovercraft idea that Hayley developed ( http://junkbots-hayleystevenson.blogspot.com/2011/08/hovercraft-do-i-need-motor.html ). Basically a balloon, CD and a sports bottle top, that floats across a table. - The basic junkbot - A drinks can, two markers, broken propeller, a motor and battery pack, - The new junkbot takes basic the junkbot and rearranges so it stands on the pen tips. Now add a third pen and we have a less elegant Picassobot . Start it up on some paper and (hopefully) watch it wriggle and draw. All this in one hour!