Winter Carnival

The winter session of Inventors Club began with a carnival. Set up around the room we had four carnival games set up for the students.

"Hey, wait a minute. There is something in this jar!" BUSTED We were in fact playing crooked carnival games.

Thus began our challenge: Can you design a tool that will help you win the carnival game every time. We even turned the process of solving the challenge into a game.

Each time the students tried out their device, regardless of the results, they got more materials. The game was designed to encourage the students to fail fast when prototyping and try lots of different solutions.

Our students came up with many unique and creative solutions to help them master our crooked carnival games.

Up Next Safety Training!

Inventors Club Spring 2014 - Week 4 plus Meet the Makers

The last session of Inventors Club for the 2013-2014 school year is in full swing now.  As usual, we spent the first two weeks doing introductory group activities, and learning all about the tools and materials of the student workshop.  Now that we just had the third of 6 Saturdays, we’ve begun working on everyone’s individual project which they’ll take home after the big show at the end.  This last Saturday was also a unique day because in between the morning and afternoon groups we had a special Meet the Makers program, where former students presented some of their work to the current students.

On the first day of the session, in the morning group we played some getting-to-know-you games so we could all get a little more familiar with each other.  Then we did an activity to help with using drawings to communicate our thoughts to others.  In that activity, all the students managed to tell their partner how to reconstruct a simple collection of miscellaneous small wood and plastic pieces by drawing their creations from the top, side, and front.  Then, after being safety trained for using the workshop, they paired up and built their own simple alarm systems which we then tried to disarm in an attempt to steal the precious treasure inside.

In the afternoon, we spent the first two weeks making art machines which we submitted for Science Friday’s Art Machine Science Club.  Two of the results can be seen on Youtube:

We also had a Meet the Makers session in between the two groups this last Saturday.  We’ve done this before a couple times, but always had a mentor or professional maker come in to discuss.  This time we brought back two former students to show off things they made in our programs.  The two students are also a part of our Green Energy Art Garden team, which is pairing 5 students with a local artist to create an artwork which utilizes some form of green energy, and will be displayed on our green roof this summer.  You can follow their progress and learn about them here.

Now it’s time to work on everyone’s individualized personal project, and in 3 more weeks they’ll show them off, and take them home.  We’re all looking forward to seeing the results!

Inventors Club Winter 2014 - Week 6

Another session of Inventors Club has come to a close.  As usual, we finished with the Big Show, where our student inventors displayed and described their inventions for friends and family.  Because the last step in the invention process here at the Bakken is "show it," it's very important for our program participants to explain what they've made with their time here.  Scientists and engineers need to be able to communicate their work to others, so we like to have the kids talk about their projects, and we even encourage the families and friends to visit with the students and ask them even more questions about their work to really get them thinking.

Every session brings projects we've never seen before.  This time around it felt like we saw everything from an egg cracking machine, to a ball toss game, a couple amplifiers, a few shockers (including one cleverly disguised as a normal telephone handset), a chalk drawing robot, and a submarine.  We even saw a diorama of a kitchen that was able to take food from the fridge to the table all on its own.

The schedule this year has us going almost directly from the winter session into the spring session, so this Saturday we'll be starting up the next round of Inventors Club and LEGO Robotics.  Of course, any information about our youth programs can be found on our website at thebakken.org/youth-programs.

Inventors Club Winter 2014 - Week 3

Well, with this heat wave of freezing temperatures, we’re halfway through winter Inventors Club.  Now that the group work is done, all the students have started work on their personal projects.  They’ve drawn their ideas and gathered some supplies together, and now we get to spend the next three weeks bringing all their ideas to life. 

This is the part of the program where the kids really get to flex their creativity.  Now that they have ideas, they have to figure out how to make the supplies that are available meet their needs, and of course they have to solve any of the problems that inevitably arise when making.  Luckily we have a wonderful group of volunteer mentors to help with all that.

Whether they're bringing their expertise on a subject, learning something new alongside one of the students, or even just providing an extra set of hands or eyes, we couldn’t do what we do without them.

So, with both the morning and the afternoon groups off to a great start, we're excited to see their ideas in action.  It's going to be a fun 3 weeks!

More information about all of our youth programs can be found on our website here: http://thebakken.org/youth-programs

Inventors Club Winter 2014 - Week 1

And the winter session of Inventors Club is off to a running start!  This session is all about chain reactions, plus more Arduino practice for the older group.

Last Saturday we started work on Rube Goldberg balloon popping devices in the morning group.  Lots of different ideas being tried out, and this weekend we get to see what the final results will look like.  Some of our big nails seem to be popular choices for making the big kaboom, but will they be able to puncture the balloons, or will some have to be switched out for something sharper?  You might say we're waiting on pins and needles here.

In the afternoon we started work on an experimental Arduino servo chain reaction.  Can we create our own homemade switches so that our servos can activate each other one after another?  Can we get them to run in a looping circle?  This weekend we'll finish the switches, add some programming, and find out!  The homemade switches are looking awfully impressive and creative.  It's going to be fun to see them in action.

Of course, after all this group work, the students will spend the rest of the 6 week program working on making their own project idea.  With the help of our equipment, materials, and mentors they'll be bringing their ideas to life.  We're all looking forward to seeing what amazing new creations will come out of the workshop this time around.

Inventors Club Big Show

Discussing one student's project

Just before Thanksgiving we finished up our fall session of Inventors Club with another successful Big Show.  The 4th step of the invention process here at the Bakken is Show It, and to facilitate that we invite friends and family in on the last day of every session to see the students present their creations.

Controlling an LED display with an Arduino

Every time around we see new projects we've never seen before, and this fall was no exception. From boats and cars, to a drink lifter and a drawing robot, an LED display and a calculator, and many more, there were a lot of great projects to enjoy.

A grappling hook launcher

We had quite a bit of fun working with the students this session, and owe a great big thank you to all the volunteers who helped bring the kids' ideas to life, and the parents who give us the chance to play and learn alongside their children.

A drawing robot

We have lots of more opportunities coming up to do some great making at the Bakken.  Our winter session of Inventors Club is starting on the 15th of February, and is now open for online registration.  Also, we always have our drop-in Thursday evening Open Workshops from 4:30 to 6:30, which are available with a punch card.  The full schedule for those, and all our programs, is on our website.

Inventors Club - Oct 30, 2013

Students demonstrating some solutions to a design problem.

Fall Inventors Club is underway, and we’ve been having a lot of fun getting back into our school year programs.  We have a full compliment of students this season, and already their creativity and enthusiasm is showing through.  Both the AM and PM groups have had activities these last two weeks to sharpen their making skills, and prepare them for building their own unique creation.

Can you draw the structure so that your partner can rebuild it?

We started by getting some practice with technical drawings, so we can be better equipped to communicate our plans to others.

One self-propelled physics cart.

The morning group also had some time to explore the materials and tools of the workshop.  They took simple carts with wheels, and devised their own unique ways to make them move without being pushed.  They’re now on track to being experts at hacking everyday objects to bend them to their will.

Student-built circuit with scrolling LEDs.

The afternoon students all got to learn how to use Arduino microcontrollers to control a string of LEDs, and even how to add user input to change the way they turn on and off.  This was the start of a 3-session plan to develop confidence in programming microcontrollers in order to expand the possibilities for our projects.

Now we’re ready to move on to the students making their own personal projects.  The volunteer mentors are all geared up and ready to help however they’re needed, and in four weeks we should have some impressive creations to show off.

Students work with mentors to bring their ideas to life.

Earl Bakken Science Program - Day 2

Today we worked in the workshop on new challenges and tool training.

Morning
We started the day with a new challenge. Last week we worked on using levers as balances, exploring the dynamics of the relationship between weight and distance to the fulcrum. This week we used those levers to send small weights flying through the air as we turned our levers into catapults. Not only did we launch things into the air, but we used them to complete a circuit as they landed.

After much fun and success. We took time to learn how to properly use the tools in the workshop. We had training on how to solder, use saws, and proper drilling procedure. We finished two of the three, one more next week and we will be ready to start on our projects.


Afternoon
The Inventors and Investigators spent their afternoon figuring out how to hook up and control an elevator. The challenge was to hooked up the given elevators so that they could be turn on and could move both up and down with only two switches. Once they got that working, they then tried to sense the elevator with switches that were connect the Basic Stamp microcontroller.

Earl Bakken Science Program - Day 1

Today was the first day of the Earl Bakken Science Program. We had two session, the Explorers met this morning from 9 until 12 noon, the Inventors & Investigators met this afternoon from 1:30 to 4:00. During both sessions we worked on solving challenges that had to with simple machines.

Morning

Balance Beam Challenge - Try to balance 10 weights on the balance beam.

Battery Bulbs and Wires Activity - Working in groups, students are giving a bag of batteries, bulbs, wires, and other electrical stuff and they experiment. We explored switches, parallel and series circuits, and circuit diagrams.

Afternoon
Monument Mover Challenge - How do you move a very heavy 'monument' across a desert island. That was our challenge. We only had materials to make simple machines. We were able to use an incline plane, several wheels, a pulley system, and a few levers to make it work.

Programming the Basic Stamp Micro controller - We started a tutorial on how to use a Basic Stamp micro controller. Controlling outputs like lights and motors, sensing inputs from switches, and some fundamental programming concepts like condition statements and loops. Good stuff!