Turns out Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus had it right all along! In the era of the Next Generation Science Standards, there is a great deal of evidence that experiential and project-based learning are effective approaches to education. As described in the Cambridge Handbook of Learning Sciences, project-based classrooms provide opportunities for students…
Do your pets trap themselves in rooms? Do you wish you could make your home more accessible for your furry* friends?? Now you can, hooray!! This project uses a micro:bit microcontroller to pull open a door when a (pet-friendly) switch is pushed. We’ll need a micro:bit (probably helpful), a high-torque motor, and some mechanical parts…
I am so proud of all of my students, especially when they tackle and conquer difficult projects, like one of my students did recently when she completed a prototype of her Mini Robotic Table. … A Robotic Table?! Heck yes!! It is just as hilarious and awesome as you are imagining. But like most projects,…
What’s better than a table with wheels? A table that you can drive around! This tutorial will teach you how to build your very own Mini Robotic Table, a project that was conceived and designed by one of my students (she was 10 when we started). We built this table because, in the words of…
Used by hobbyists and professional engineers alike, breadboards allow us to quickly build all sorts of circuits! Breadboards got their name because in a time long ago, engineers used to use wooden cutting boards! They would hammer in nails and wrap wires to make connections. Not only was it tedious, but the cooks got frustrated…
