Back to School and Back to More Makerspace Exploration

Transitioning back into our routine following the winter break can sometimes be tough, but our friends in the makerspace are diving right in! As our 3rd-5th graders continue to work on their passion projects to gear up for our Maker Fair in February (details coming soon), our 1st and 2nd grade friends were able to continue their exploration of our LegoWeDo robotic kits.

This week they were able to work in groups and build a  more complex project that performed a pretty cool function! Our friends built a kicking robot that kicked "snowballs" (cotton balls & packaging peanuts).

Students took turns as they made their way through the step-by-step instructions using the Lego WeDo software. It was interesting and fun to see the groups work out the challenges they faced during the build process and to celebrate their victories.

Once the build was complete, they needed to program their kicker to perform its function...kick the snowball!!! The programming portion requires the students to click and drag blocks that each have an assigned function. Before the kicking began, each person was asked to record their prediction of how far they thought the snowball would go, and then they were able test the kicker. After each friend had their turn kicking the snowball, they measured the distance it went, recorded that measurement, and then compared it to their prediction. Some of our 1st and 2nd graders were very close to their original guess, and others were amazed at how much further the snowball went than what they predicted. 

The smiles were everywhere once they were able to see their kickers in action! Some of our friends even created a new program to keep their robot kicking. Some of our friends from Mrs.Porte's class even challenged themselves to kick as many snowballs in a row as possible. It was awesome!

We are also challenging all of Sappington to sign up for the St.Louis County Library Warm Up with Reading program! It is for kids, teens, and adults! With the temperatures outside becoming  bitter cold, what better way to spend your time than to curl up with a good book? Sign up at your local branch, and earn entries for some great prizes including Kindles, Magic House memberships, and Wherenberg gift cards!