Elementary Summer Camp Demonstrations

FIRST General Forum
1

Hello CD,

Our team has been given a great opportunity to present at an Elementary age summer camp. We will be giving 3 45 minutes presentations to groups of 20 students. We hope to make it as interactive and engaging as possible.

We have a few ideas such as:

  • Robot “horse” where the kids can take a shot and we will try to repeat it with the robot
  • A short highlight video of competition footage
  • An interactive demonstration of the robot’s features and an overview of how mechanisms work
  • For the younger students: a few sheets of graph paper for them to sketch out an idea for a Rebound Rumble Robot.
  • An introduction to first and information on how to get involved in nearby FLL Teams

As a rookie team we are limited to our competition robot from last year and one kit-bot. Unfortunately we do not have access to more than one NXT kit.

I’m curious how other teams have presented with their robots from this season to young audiences. Any suggestions are appreciated!

2

Our best demonstrations with this age group are the ones where they get to drive and shoot.

We take a few minutes about the robot, with them all gathered around. Make the talk interesting and very high level*. Then ask them if they want to drive and shoot.

We have them form two lines, one driver, one shooter. We let them collect a few balls, and then line up and shoot.

We always have students with their hand ready, either helping the students with the controls, or with a finger on the e-stop.

The kids have never complained about waiting in line.

Another choice is the game animation.

  • When talking - for example, make it “real” for them -

YES - Have you ever seen one of those little Jeeps or Barbie cars you can drive around the year? Well, we have 2 motors on our robot from one of those. They are right here. We used them for our …

NO - We use 2 FisherPrice Part Number xxxxxx and they produce xx inch pounds or torque and with this speed reduction gearbox we can …

YES - How much do some of you weigh? Well, this robot weights 120 pounds, so that is like you and you together.

YES - This robot has 4 motors to drive. See them there! And, it has two speeds, one so we can race around the field, and another so we can go slow and push other robots!

NO - We use 4 CIM motors, because they are very powerful. They are going into an AndyMArk 2 speed SuperShifter, giving us speeds of about 4 fps and 12 fps when using these 6 inch pneumatic tires.

YES - Here is our shooter. These wheels spin really fast, so we have to be careful. You know, if we ran them at full speed they could shoot a ball all the way to (point out something).

3

Awesome advice! I really like your ideas about the relatable explanations.
We were thinking of having two lines for the robot H.O.R.S.E., one for the kids to take shots on there own and another for the kids to operate the shooter (with assistance from team members.) Our drive-train can be a bit wild so I think it would be safer to only have team members drive.

I plan to have a “safety zone” taped down on the floor that the kids can’t cross without safety glasses. We’ll only let one or two in at a time so we can keep our eyes on them and only have to give out a few loner pairs at a time. does this seem like a safe and reasonable plan?