Thanks for your interest in the camps
The robotics programs are built around the LEGO MindStorms kit
(available commercially from LEGO) and we spend the week learning
about some engineering and programming fundamentals while building
robots. We have a whole range of tasks or missions for the kids to work
on depending on their skill sets. In any week we have some that are new
to the idea while others have 3-4 years of experience with the robots. So
we have a variety of things for the different levels to work on. Typically the
beginners groups start off with the more basic tasks and then quickly
spread out depending on their desires and skill levels. We don't run a
competitive program because there is always such a range of skills that
the new kids would feel overwhelmed and embarrassed that they can't do
what an older or more experienced child could do.
For some it is hard to imagine building "robots" or anything useful out of
LEGOs; but quite the opposite is true. In camps we have had children
build fork-trucks, cranes, machines that automatically sort LEGOs,
self-navigating robots, and all sorts of others. All age-appropriate tasks
for the ages we are serving. Most children in their first week of camp work
on mobile robots. These are robots that have wheels or treads (like a
bulldozer) and they have to learn to program these robots to navigate
around a table, the floor, around a box, whatever. The process of building,
improving and programming these machines/robots is highly
empowering for children. They aren't dealing with the abstract; if they have
to do any number crunching (like gear ratios) it is directly related to a
problem which they have built.
The robots are not "remote controlled". The robots will only "do" what the
children have programmed them to do. In an over-simplified way, a child
may want to have a robot go forward for 4 feet, turn around, and then return
to the starting place. This is accomplished by a set of instructions that are
programmed on a computer and then downloaded to the robot. For
example:
Turn on the motors in the forward direction (right and left)
Wait 3.5 seconds (trial and error to get the right amount of time)
Turn off the motors
Turn on the right motor forwards and the left motor backwards (turns robot)
Wait 0.8 seconds (how long does it take to turn 180 degrees around?)
Turn off the motors
Turn on the motors in the forward direction (right and left)
Wait 3.5 seconds (back to the start)
Turn off the motors
The above program is written in an iconized language called RoboLab
(each instruction is a small icon (picture) that is strung in a line from the
start of the program to the end of the program.
All campers will have built a robot and programmed a simple program by
the end of the first day of camp. The rest of the week is spent getting
better at building, programming, and completing harder tasks.
While their is some variation in the week depending on the age mix of the
campers (younger campers sometimes need more of a non-LEGO break
by Thursday and Friday afternoon) and we have sometimes shown G or
PG movies (Like TRON or Inspector Gadget or Ice Age) although last year
only one of the camps even wanted to do that. Most of the children are so
into the LEGOs and the robots that they simply don't want to stop. One of
our biggest problems is campers who show up early and who have to be
hauled out at the end of the day by their parents.
Is it for everyone? Probably not, but in the four years we have had these
camps, only once did a camper have to be removed from camp due to
behavior (broke personal property of another campers and an argument
ensued etc...). Most weeks we have perfect attendence for the whole
week, or maybe one person out for a doctors appointment kind of thing.
I hope that gives you a better idea of what they do. It is always hard to
picture it until you've seen it, but once you have you'll understand why the
children love participating.
Tom Bickford
Camp Director
The robotics programs are built around the LEGO MindStorms kit
(available commercially from LEGO) and we spend the week learning
about some engineering and programming fundamentals while building
robots. We have a whole range of tasks or missions for the kids to work
on depending on their skill sets. In any week we have some that are new
to the idea while others have 3-4 years of experience with the robots. So
we have a variety of things for the different levels to work on. Typically the
beginners groups start off with the more basic tasks and then quickly
spread out depending on their desires and skill levels. We don't run a
competitive program because there is always such a range of skills that
the new kids would feel overwhelmed and embarrassed that they can't do
what an older or more experienced child could do.
For some it is hard to imagine building "robots" or anything useful out of
LEGOs; but quite the opposite is true. In camps we have had children
build fork-trucks, cranes, machines that automatically sort LEGOs,
self-navigating robots, and all sorts of others. All age-appropriate tasks
for the ages we are serving. Most children in their first week of camp work
on mobile robots. These are robots that have wheels or treads (like a
bulldozer) and they have to learn to program these robots to navigate
around a table, the floor, around a box, whatever. The process of building,
improving and programming these machines/robots is highly
empowering for children. They aren't dealing with the abstract; if they have
to do any number crunching (like gear ratios) it is directly related to a
problem which they have built.
The robots are not "remote controlled". The robots will only "do" what the
children have programmed them to do. In an over-simplified way, a child
may want to have a robot go forward for 4 feet, turn around, and then return
to the starting place. This is accomplished by a set of instructions that are
programmed on a computer and then downloaded to the robot. For
example:
Turn on the motors in the forward direction (right and left)
Wait 3.5 seconds (trial and error to get the right amount of time)
Turn off the motors
Turn on the right motor forwards and the left motor backwards (turns robot)
Wait 0.8 seconds (how long does it take to turn 180 degrees around?)
Turn off the motors
Turn on the motors in the forward direction (right and left)
Wait 3.5 seconds (back to the start)
Turn off the motors
The above program is written in an iconized language called RoboLab
(each instruction is a small icon (picture) that is strung in a line from the
start of the program to the end of the program.
All campers will have built a robot and programmed a simple program by
the end of the first day of camp. The rest of the week is spent getting
better at building, programming, and completing harder tasks.
While their is some variation in the week depending on the age mix of the
campers (younger campers sometimes need more of a non-LEGO break
by Thursday and Friday afternoon) and we have sometimes shown G or
PG movies (Like TRON or Inspector Gadget or Ice Age) although last year
only one of the camps even wanted to do that. Most of the children are so
into the LEGOs and the robots that they simply don't want to stop. One of
our biggest problems is campers who show up early and who have to be
hauled out at the end of the day by their parents.
Is it for everyone? Probably not, but in the four years we have had these
camps, only once did a camper have to be removed from camp due to
behavior (broke personal property of another campers and an argument
ensued etc...). Most weeks we have perfect attendence for the whole
week, or maybe one person out for a doctors appointment kind of thing.
I hope that gives you a better idea of what they do. It is always hard to
picture it until you've seen it, but once you have you'll understand why the
children love participating.
Tom Bickford
Camp Director
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