What is YOUR favorite toy?

[Scorpion515]

Originally posted by Ben Mitchell


I teach a LEGO Mindstorms course to little kids over the summer, so I have 4 sets, plus tons of extra parts.

You teach a course to kids? Like a FLL? I may be running at least 1 team next year. I'm doing a prep-FLL program tomorrow.

I think LEGO Mindstorms is pretty awesome. It was got me really into robotics, and it was thanks to the people on the Mindstorm forums that I found out about FLL and FIRST. Pretty cool.

[Suike]

I believe him. A few people in the street racing clubs around here have those Nitro R/C Cars that are like 1/10th scale and they are very quick. They have competitions with them where they drag race and they also do circuit type stuff... I was gonna get into it but it cost too much. Paintball is my expensive hobby.

[Ben Mitchell]

Originally posted by Scorpion515


You teach a course to kids? Like a FLL? I may be running at least 1 team next year. I'm doing a prep-FLL program tomorrow.

I think LEGO Mindstorms is pretty awesome. It was got me really into robotics, and it was thanks to the people on the Mindstorm forums that I found out about FLL and FIRST. Pretty cool.

Kinda like FLL, but it's only 1 week, so we break it up into "challenges"
day 1 = go straight and don't fall apart,
day 2 =turn with timing
day 3 = turn with bumpers
etc.

FLL is awesome. Too bad there are NO teams near me though. I love teaching kids this stuff. Inside a week, I had parents come up to me and say "All she (or he) talks about is robotics." More importantly, I had kids telling their parents about speed versus torque, programming, and gear ratios.

It warms my heart to hear them go from "gimme that grey thing" to "pass me that half bushing, please"

A tip: relate it to something THEY know. The lego differential is tough for them to understand, but if you ask them if they knoe what a rachet is, and work up from there, they get it much better. They need something concrete to work with before the engineering aspect "clicks" in their minds.

Also, start early, let kids get familier with the parts, hide the instruction book except for the sensors. Hide it and kept it hidden. And let the kids to all the buidling, even if they're building something doomed to fail, they will learn from that. You'll be amazed how quickly they pick up on things. Sometimes, they know it, but can't explain it. That's when you jump in with the fancy "engineer word."

Good Luck!

[Anne George]

I actually teach FLL over the summer at FIRST Place during the FIRST Discoveries Summer Science Day Camps. It is so great to see some of the Kids that did not want to be there at the beginning because it was a science camp all excited at the end of it because they had the best time.

But of course now my favorite toy is the one that was delievered to my front door just now 3DSMax version 4.3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mikefrei]

Our claw designer built our complete claw out of lego's, including pneumatics. was pretty cool.