Mountain Lakes elementary school holds robotics fair
Mountain Lakes elementary students got technical on March 24.
It was in honor of New Jersey Makers Day (March 24), a statewide celebration of students having “hands-on learning experiences,” according to the website for the event.
Ian Matty and Nish Kolonne run the Mountain Lakes Makers Club, which is open to all elementary school age children in town and currently has about 40 members, partnered with the Wildwood Elementary School to create a fair that celebrated kids’ creations.
There were interactive robots on display created by students at every grade level at the school, kindergarten through fifth grade. Matty said each student spent about four hours on their project in preparation of what he hopes will become an annual event. As an example of their efforts, first-graders made robot cars that painted murals on display in the school’s library.
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That was art teacher Jeanette Meyer’s idea. She said she wanted to see if the machines the kids made (with help from Matty, Kolonne, parents and teachers) could make art.
“It’s interesting. It’s a whole new take on technology,” said Meyer. “Bringing it down to this level is fascinating. The kids are born with this technology now. To incorporate it into their learning is natural.”
The 16 students were split into groups of four. Each group made its own robot car. During the project the young students were introduced to developmental concepts, like how to work in a group, as well as trickier concepts, like programming, electrical circuits and building, said first grade teacher Cindy Gorzelnik.
They built robots that rolled back and forth, had moving parts, and reacted to stimuli. There were cars with “sea shell eyes,” convertible roofs and LED-lit smiles.
First-grader Andrew’s group made a monster truck that had distance sensors that dictated movement. But he was just thrilled that he got to use a hot-glue gun, he told the crowd of parents at the fair.
Samantha gave her robot spaghetti hair. “We used this thing called a humming bird,” she said pointing to a circuit board. Matty clarified that was part of a Hummingbird Robotics Kit.
Juliet gave her robot car paper cup eyes and used a tin for its head. The first time Matty tried to get Juliet’s car moving, he said nothing happened.
“He unplugged the thing so it wouldn’t go by itself and I reminded him it was unplugged,” Juliet said. She wasn’t the least bit shy in front of the crowd.
The children started by designing what they wanted their robots to look like. Then they collected straws, popsicle sticks, cardboard and the various materials to build them with. Then they decided what kind of electronics they wanted to incorporate.
“They have LED lights that turn on and off with sensors and some of them use servos that make arms move,” said Gorzelnik. “An example of that would be the convertible that had the moving top."
But robotics was not really the point of all of this, Gorzelnik said. It was more about creating and making something with their imaginations.
“They came up with things that created art,” Gorzelnik said. “The actual programming was done by parents. But the ideas came from the children.”
While these students are used to iPads and smartphones, this gets them “thinking outside of the box,” Meyer said. “They are taking what’s there and bringing it to a three-dimensional form. They get to bring it to life.”
On the web
Watch a video of the kids and some of their creations. Visit njersy.co/wildwoodmakers
Email: myers@northjersey.com