Written by Nathaniel Shih, Year 7 student, edited by Janelle Garett (Lower Secondary Coordinator)
‘Yew Chung will align with Art and Science’ is part of our school motto. We would like to share with you one of the ways our Lower Secondary students are putting it into action and extending their applied knowledge and skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
On Mondays after school, many of our CP Lower Secondary students can be found in the ICT/Robotics Lab thinking creatively and working collaboratively as they design purpose-built robots made from Lego, learn to code, problem-solve and have a great time with their friends. Year 7 Nathaniel Shih tells us more about how this Lego League has allowed robotics and fun to join forces!
My name is Nathan Shih and I am part of the First Lego League ECA run by Mr. Horwood. The First Lego League ECA is centered around robot building, which involves design, coding, and is lots of fun. However there are other parts of the ECA that are important too. There is another area of the ECA that is called ‘The Project,’ which focuses on the value of our theme (Animal Allies). The main objective of ‘The Project’ is to recognize a problem involving humans interacting with animals, and to come up with a solution to help fix the interaction so that it doesn’t harm either party.
This season’s theme is called Animal Allies. Teams build robots out of Lego, and put specifically designed Lego batteries and wires to connect them to the moving parts of the robot. Before the robot goes into motion, other people put codes into the robot using a computer software to make it move around. The coders put specific details in their coding so that the robot can complete missions. These missions would be related to the theme; Animal Allies. Missions could vary from moving shark tanks to different places, to putting bees on a beehive.
So far, the First Lego League ECA has been pretty fun. This ECA is a time to build robots with Lego and submit those creations for a contest. We backed out of a recent citywide contest because the team all agreed that we weren’t prepared enough, so we are starting to have competitions within the ECA group. For now, the contest is between the Year 8s and everyone else. For the past few lessons, my team has been focusing on coding the robot to accomplish the high point missions. Whoever gets the most points in the end from completed missions, wins. I hope that the contest will turn out well for the best team (which is mine), and that the fun will be long lasting.
I like that the First Lego League ECA gives us a chance to become more creative and critical thinkers because we have to solve problems in different ways. It is also fun to work together with friends. Go First Lego League! Thank you Mr. Horwood for making it possible.